97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know

Chapter 48. Build Teams to Run Marathons, Not Sprints

Naresh Jain

IF YOU RUN AT YOUR FASTEST PACE for a short period of time— a "sprint" in track and field terms—you burn yourself out. To run a marathon, a team must be disciplined, practice every day, and keep a sustainable pace. When working on software projects, we don't want to run just once and exhaust ourselves. We need to keep going at a steady pace. Sustainable teams are geared toward running marathons and not allowed to just sprint.

Building useful software products is not an end in itself. Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations.

Most teams have a gap in knowing how to do this. Someone needs to play an active role to fill this void. In most cases, the software project manager is the best choice to work on team development. I suggest the project manager target a goal to build sustainable teams. This is a primary way he/she can add extra value to the project.

If the project manager focuses on team building and individual growth, on-time and within-budget deliveries will automatically fall into place. This also ensures that teams are self-organized and don't need a babysitter if the project manager needs to guide multiple projects simultaneously.

Typically, project managers get caught up ...