Teamwork in Project Management

Working in a group set up entails collaborating with other workers to succeed. Williams and Marshall LLC’s organization puts into consideration teamwork among its employees. When I joined one of the teams as a leader where Mark and Isabel were my teammates, I had a lot both good and bad experiences. First, there is adequate time to brainstorm in cases of developing new ideas. Every individual has the urge to contribute to the group and therefore crafts new ideas helps to improve the project.

For instance, the team works help in enhancing involuntary collaborations such as developing the project logo where every person is required to participate. Similarly, I have learned too that teamwork helps a teammate to seek help in tasks related to the project and therefore to lead to the project success.

On the other hand, I have also learned that a variety of problems might lead to the slow development of the group towards achieving its success. First, the team takes a lot of time to agendas and the people who will accomplish different tasks (West and Lyboynikoya, 2013). Assigning members different team tasks involves engaging their time schedules so that each group member is available for the group task. When I observe Mark and Isabel work schedules, we have one thing in common. We have more than eight hours per day scheduled for our work. I will dedicate one more hour to my work schedule since I am the team leader and therefore I will tackle additional tasks in regards to the project.

Therefore, as a leader, I will propose a couple of strategies to ensure that we complete the project on time. First, I will consider improving the communication within my teammates so that it can be easier to manage involuntary team tasks. Secondly, I will focus on paying attention to one another’s opinions so that it is easier to assign different roles. Thirdly and foremost, we will define each member’s roles and responsibilities. Defining roles will help in tackling the project tasks as a group rather than as an individual. Good communication with my teammates will work as a motivating tool to enable every member to share out problems so that we develop reliable solutions within the stipulated time. Proper project management strategies help to run group projects efficiently.

Importance of setting goals

It is of great importance to set goals as a team. Different team members have different capabilities which therefore require the team leader to consider their suggestions so that the group may develop smart goals. If an individual sets group goals, there are increased chances of being bias, and therefore the team objectives may not be smart . Group goal setting is a step taken by the group members to develop primary group objectives that are to be met within a given period of time while on the other hand individual goal setting involves individuals assess themselves and developing smart goals at a personal level which they aim to achieve at a given time (Bartelt and Dennis, 2014). Individuals are encouraged to modify their goals so that they reflect team or organizational goals.

Mark, Isabel and I will use a variety of methods so that we are in a position to work in consensus. First, we define clear channels that we will use to make our decisions. Secondly, we will encourage one another to be open and transparent. defining clear channels will help in respecting every member’s opinions. Thirdly and most important we will support one another to aim at reaching a consensus. Striving will involve shifting positions to be flexible with other members’ opinions. Once the team develops the goals, we will define every member a role and then encourage each one of us to create personal goals that are in line with the project objectives. My team members have different characteristics which make it hard to make team goals.

Mark loves participating in various meetings but is less orderly and requires constant supervision to work effectively. On the other hand, Isabel is dedicated so much that time becomes almost a limitation to accomplish other activities. Isabel finds it hard to engage in groups and therefore loves working individually. The two teammates have different personalities, and thus as a leader, I will use a common goal setting technique to unite the group and make healthy group goals. The goal setting technique that I will use will be setting deadlines and also creating other smaller goals in line with larger team goals. The two goal-setting techniques will push Mark to be active while Isabel will also have a chance to work towards achieving the goals. In my work schedule, I have assigned an extra hour to my regular working hours each day so that I can use that time to have a look on the project tasks. Similarly, I prefer exercising over entertainment. Therefore, this time helps me to be flexible now that I can use it to make consultations concerning the project work.

The two most essential time management techniques that I will apply are; making a clear objective on what to do in a particular day and also minimize or discourage procrastination (Thorgren and Wincent, 2013). The two management strategies will be ideal since the approaches will help mark remain on track while discouraging procrastination will also help him achieve personal and team objectives. On the other hand, the two methods will commit Isabela to attend project meetings to contribute and provide any form of support.

The ideal planning approach that I may use in my team is the flexible approach. Flexible approach enables employees to be at ease and tension free (Kerzner, 2017). The reason is that, through the deadlines and discouraged procrastinations, Mark will be in a position to work better and he is also flexible. On the other hand, flexibility will help continuous assessment of Isabel to ensure that she can progressively work in a team.

Since defining role is the most critical thing in any team, I as the leader will help in coordinating the team tasks. Mark has the problem of being disorganized, and therefore he will be the timekeeper and other time management tasks leading discussions since he is active in participating in the group. Lastly, Isabel will be the team secretary since she is always committed to accomplishing her duties.

References

1. Bartelt, V. L., & Dennis, A. R. (2014). Nature and nurture: The impact of automaticity and the
2. structuration of communication on virtual team behavior and performance. MIS quarterly, 38(2).
3. DeMarco, T., & Lister, T. (2013). Peopleware: productive projects and teams. Addison-Wesley.
4. Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning,
5. scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
6. Mellor, R., Cottrell, N., & Moran, M. (2013). “Just working in a team was a great
7. experience…”–Student perspectives on the learning experiences of an interprofessional education program. Journal of interprofessional care, 27(4), 292-297.
8. Thorgren, S., & Wincent, J. (2013). Passion and challenging goals: drawbacks of rushing into
9. goal?setting processes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(11), 2318-2329.
10. West, M. A., & Lyubovnikova, J. (2013). Illusions of team working in health care. Journal of
11. health organization and management, 27(1), 134-142. 

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