Identifying Key Characteristics of a High Performance Project Team

Abstract
In this article, the problems at FEL are analyzed and assessed from the standpoint of what FEL should do to assign managers to project teams and what efficiencies these criteria create. The problem is that FEL is not very thorough or cautious in its approach. Now it has a problem of the team members not wanting to work together and Gatenby is relying on Jobe to make it all work. This is unlikely to really happen and so if Gatenby cannot get them all to recognize that they are professionals and must now come together as a team in spite of their animosity, then the project is going to fail and some may not reach their personal goals. Tuckman’s five stages of group development may be helpful in solving the problem.
Keywords: Tuckman’s five, team development, working abroad
Questions for Franklin Equipment, Ltd.
Evaluate the criteria FEL uses to assign managers to project teams? What efficiencies do these criteria create? What are the resulting problems?
The criteria that FEL uses to assign manager to project teams are only partially efficient. The criteria consist of time (who is available at the time a new project starts) and experience (those with experience are given preference). More criteria should be considered, such as, which workers have a history of working well with one another and which workers share bad blood between one another—which is clearly the case between Rankins and Perry. Out of an abundance of caution, FEL should have at least recognized the risk of their bad relationship harming the project. Instead of throwing the two workers together on the same team, it might have found another worker to replace one or the other.
Another criterion that should have been considered is whether there are personnel interested in working abroad. Clearly workers like Stonebreaker relish the idea of travel and look forward to the work, while employees like Bruder do not. Bruder clearly has a negative perception of the job because it is abroad and this is influencing her perception of it getting done on time. Before assigning workers to jobs like this, FEL should consider which workers prefer to travel abroad and which prefer to stay stateside. Knowing this would help to improve the morale of the team.
Adding these additional criteria would make the assignation process more efficient and reduce the need for trying to make a team “work” with so many dysfunctional parts. True, Stonebreaker is optimistic—but he is optimistic because in the past the team members have worked together and gotten jobs done—but that was in the past, and the relationship between two of the team members has only soured in the meantime and another team member has no interest in being abroad (though she did not openly admit this, it does seem a logical rationale for her negative outlook). The resulting problems of not having these additional criteria for assignation are that a dysfunctional team with poor morale and a highly negative outlook going forward has been cobbled together when a better team likely could have been assembled with just a little more consideration on the part of FEL.
Why is it even more important that project team members work well together on international projects such as Project Abu Dhabi?
It is important that project team members work well together on international projects like the Abu Dhabi project because they are going to encounter stress and tension being in a foreign land and are going to have to rely on one another even more so than they ordinarily would were the project stateside, simply because they are foreigners in a foreign land and unlikely to find sympathetic or understanding compatriots outside their work team circle. Were the team stateside, the members could find friendship and solace at home or in the neighborhood among other Canadians. So there is that consideration they face.
As Muslihat (2018) points out, communication is an essential element of teamwork and cannot be done without in project management. Yet here is a team with two teammates who hate one another and do not communicate, and a third team member who does not want to talk at all. This is a major problem and is likely to lead to disaster down the road. International projects need team members who are committed to one another, even more so than back home, because they are literally all they have. They have to trust one another implicitly and enjoy being with one another; otherwise the whole experience is going to be overwhelming. Being away from home is not easy, and every annoyance can be felt 10x over because the individual is away from home and lacks that support. Thus, when building a team, the team members should be feeling good about what they are embarking upon abroad.
Discuss the dilemma that Jobe now faces.
Jobe now faces the dilemma of getting the team members to work together. However, he faces significant hurdles. For instance, Perry knows that Rankins will be fired if the two cannot get along, and that would likely be fine with Perry. Rankins has developed a drinking problem and is clearly insecure when he measures himself alongside Perry. Jobe basically has to help Rankins with his insecurities and try to get Perry to not leverage the knowledge he has regarding Rankins’ possible termination. He also has to get Bruder onboard with the project. None of these seems likely to happen. Jobe should have been consulted before the team was organized—not after. Now it appears too late.
What should Jobe recommend to Gatenby?
Jobe should recommend to Gatenby that they hold a team meeting to clear the air. Tuckman’s five stages of team work are: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Natvig & Stark, 2016). The team has been formed, and anxieties and fears have been expressed—but they have not been expressed in the open before the whole group—only in private. The storming stage now needs to happen so that everything can get out in the open and Gatenby can take control of the group and make sure that everybody is going to be a professional, regardless of their personal likes or dislikes. They all have a job to do and they all need to rise up to the occasion.
Stonebreaker is going to need to be his support in this initiative, as he has the right positive mentality and believes in his team members and trusts that they will all perform as expected. The key will be to keep them all on the same page, to keep them motivated, and to keep them focused on the task at hand without undermining anything that happens. They have two months to click or else Rankins will be fired. Rankins and Perry thus need to try to clear the air somehow. It is advised that Gatenby and Rankins and Perry convene to get their grievances out in the open. Gatenby and Jobe should be present so that they can help the two bury the hatchet if possible.
As Lumsden, Lumsden and Weithoff (2010) note, there is a negotiation that transpires when people are at odds with one another and before they can move on, they have to be allowed to save a little bit of face. Everyone has an ego, everyone has pride; if people are not given the chance to salvage their pride, the situation can easily go from bad to worse. Jobe should recommend to Gatenby that he get his team together with the understanding that he will give his workers an opportunity to save a little bit of face so that no one feels silly for their negative attitudes. The key to a successful team is that everyone feels appreciated and wanted. Their feedback should be welcome. Gatenby needs to show them all that he trusts them and wants them there. At the same time, he has to be honest about what is best for the job.
Jobe might also consider seeing if it is at all possible to replace either Perkins or Rankins for this job, or even Bruder. If it is already too late to shift things around, then they must make it work however they can. This is where Jobe and Stonebreaker need to be supportive of Gatenby. They need to facilitate positive communication among the three disgruntled employees so that the situation does not spiral out of control. The best way to do that is to lead an open and frank discussion in which the storming phase of Tuckman’s five stages of group development can transpire. Gatenby will have to lead the way and show control, but the clearing the air phase has to happen, and the disgruntled employees have to own up to their own mistakes and be given the chance to leave with their pride in spite of everything. It is time to bury the hatchet and focus on what needs to be done. The team needs to turn a corner and resolve to be there for one another, to forgive past wrongs or perceived wrongs, and to be positive about the road that lies ahead regardless of what has happened in the past.
Conclusion
The project at Abu Dhabi is Gatenby’s dream project; unfortunately, the team that has been assembled is not a dream team. It is full of disgruntled employees, one of who does not want to be abroad and two of whom hate each other. FEL should have used better criteria when assembling the team, such as personal preferences for travel and which workers have a history of working well together. However, the team has been selected and now Jobe must make it work. The best way to do that is for everyone to clear the air and get out the bad blood and negative thoughts. Using Tuckman’s five stages of group development, Gatenby should now focus on the storming phase and allow everyone to voice his opinions while he himself seizes control of the group and gets them to focus on the task at hand in spite of their dislikes and animosities. They are professionals and it is time for them to act like it.
References
Lumsden, G., Lumsden, D., & Weithoff, C. (2010). Communicating in groups and teams: Sharing leadership (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Muslihat, D. (2018). Why You Need Good Teamwork For Project Management Success. Retrieved from https://zenkit.com/en/blog/why-you-need-good-teamwork-for-project-management-success/
Natvig, D., & Stark, N. L. (2016). A project team analysis using Tuckman's model of small-group development. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(12), 675-681.