Transportation Project Management

7 Managing Resources

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

– Phil Jackson

7.1 Developing and Managing a Team

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

– Harry S. Truman

Roughly translated, the second law of thermodynamics states that a system left to its own devices will naturally devolve into increasing states of disorder. This Entropy is self-evident in public transportation project teams.

Culture matters. The culture, tone, and productivity of a team is the PM’s responsibility. Yes, the corporate culture is incredibly important, but a PM can directly impact the team’s culture. Harmonious, high functioning teams do not happen by chance. They take time, but this is a critical and powerful investment. The PM must be intentional to this end, strategically fostering trust, acceptance, and commitment to shared common values and goals.

Developing and managing a team are two very different functions. Developing a team means establishing and improving the competencies, team interactions, and overall team environment to enhance project performance. This is concentrating on the beehive, not the bees. Managing a team means focusing on the individuals. This involves providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing team changes to optimize individual team member’s performance. Two very different foci that require two very different skill sets.

Successful team development requires intentional ...