TSPSMLeading a Development Team

6. Team Formation

When you form a new team, you must select the members. They should have the right skills, want to do the job, and be able to work together. Otherwise, you cannot build a self-directed team. With a new team, you can select the members, but this takes time and you may not get all of the skills you need. This is particularly troublesome when, as is often the case, the skills you need are in short supply.

Another common situation is starting with a completely formed team. While you don’t have to recruit the members, you must work with the people you have. If they do not have the right skills or cannot work together, you will have to make some changes. Since it is often difficult to change peoples’ skills or behavior, you may have ...