Myth:  Projects fail due to technology.

Reality:  The fact is that projects rarely fail due to technology but due to people skills.  Hard work and long hours cannot overcome a lack of people skills. 

So, you’re a project manager.  You were recently promoted and thrown into the fire and now you must manage projects.  You may have just obtained your PMP.  Whatever the case may be, you have now been given the authority to obtain and manage resources to accomplish your project.  But there’s a problem; there seems to be substantial conflict on the team.  Unless you can address and resolve the issues and conflict, the team is almost doomed to fail.  Consider the following scenarios: 

Scenario 1: 

Charlie and Walter are two team members who are constantly in disagreement and conflict.  They frequently go head to head with each other and you feel this is a threat to the project. 

What are some strategies to help these team members resolve their conflict? 

Scenario 2: 

Tracy is an experienced team member who seems unmotivated and disillusioned with her role on the team.  You feel she may ultimately be late with her deliverables or that the quality may suffer. 

How do you resolve this problem without de-motivating Tracy further? 

Scenario 3: Ted is a technical resource on a high profile project.  He has several deliverables which require input and coordination with other team members.  Ted prefers to work alone and seldom interacts with anyone.  His deliverables are generally of very high quality, but he makes many assumptions without consulting others.  In team meetings he agrees to reach out to other team members, but seldom follows through.   

How do you resolve this problem without frustrating or de-motivating Ted? 

Scenario 4: 

Team members do not take ownership of their tasks or follow-up with the appropriate people.  They look to you for guidance before making any decisions or reaching out to other team members.  They do not return phone calls and occassionally miss team meetings. 

How do you resolve these issues with the team? 

Everyday, project managers must deal with these types of issues in addition to many others.  A project manager must possess adequate people skills in order to lead the project team and manage the project.  The project manager must also be able to recognize and respond to conflict within the team.  Think about a project you are currently managing.  Do you really have your thumb on the pulse of the team?  If not, it would be well worth your while to invest some time in developing yourself and your soft skills. 

Following are some reasons project managers fail: 

• Creating a division of responsibility with the team rather than a partnership
• Failure to interact sufficiently with the project team
• Failure to delegate
• Failure to negotiate when appropriate
• Failure to manage client and team’s expectations
• Failure to focus on the way the team works, rather than what it is working on
• Assuming the expert role rather than asking questions
• Failure to help the team solve its own problems
• Failure to understand team dynamics and conflict resolution 

Some suggestions to handle the conflict described above are the following: 

• Confront the conflict directly with team member(s)
• Put yourself in the team member’s situation
• Refrain from immediately giving advice
• Be sure to practice active listening:
• Ask non-threatening questions
• Consider the hidden meaning behind your question
• Ask questions to understand
• Avoid asking questions to advise, criticize or pry (prosecuting attorney approach)
• Ignore your own perceptions or feelings about the situation – i.e., listen without judgment
• Emphathize (Remember that mpathizing does not mean you must agree with the team member)
• Paraphrase
• Watch your tone and body language

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