Lesson 1 - Create A Possitive Team Enviroment

Chapter
1:
Crea+ng a Posi+ve
Team Environment

Stevbros Training and Consultancy
PMI, PMP and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Ins9tute, Inc.
Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team
Copyright@STEVBROS 1
Environment
Overview
•  This chapter looks at how project managers
can leverage EI to create an environment that
is posi+ve and produc+ve for the project
team.

Environment
What makes a great
project team
8 characteris+cs of the best projects:
•  Interdependence among team members
•  Diversity of team members
•  Mutual respect
•  The work was challenging
•  They shared common goals
•  Commitment of everyone
•  High performance of all members
•  Synergy among members

Environment
What makes a great
project team
2 factors makes a great project team
•  A world of difference
•  Resonance and dissonance in project leaders

Environment
What makes a great
project team
1.  A world of difference
•  There is a world of difference between project teams
with a posi+ve environment and those without it.
•  As project managers, we want to create the best
possible team environment to aTract and retain
great team members and to help them to be
produc+ve.
•  If we want to get the vest from our teams, we need
to create an environment that will support our team
members and encourage them to perform at their
best.

Environment
What makes a great
project team
2. Resonance and dissonance in project leaders
•  Resonant leaders are those who can manage and
direct feelings to help a group meet its goals,
create harmony with the team.
•  Dissonant leaders create discord and emo+onal
disconnects. They lack empathy and transmit
nega+ve emo+onal messages that fall flats or
worse, disturb others and create conflict.
•  Project managers can become more resonant by 5
steps (next slide)

Environment
What makes a great
project team
5 steps that PMs can take to become more
resonant:
1. Develop self-awareness and social awareness in order
to beTer understand themselves and others
2. Show empathy toward others and place themselves in
the shoes of the members of their teams.
3. Work to create message that connect to the emo+ons
and wants and needs of others
4. Show how each team member’s personal goals and
objec+ves relate to the team’s goals and objec+ves
5. Emphasize the common purpose of the team and
focus on ge^ng people pulling in the same direc+on.
Environment
How PMs set the Tone
and Direc+on for the Project
•  PMs who are inten+onal about se^ng the tone
and direc+on for the project create safety in the
project environment.
•  PMs create a safe environment by se^ng
standards, enforcing the rules, addressing
conflicts, holding others accountable and
recognizing others.
•  A safe environment encourages team members
to take risks, flourish, and perform at their
highest.
Environment
5 PM leadership responsibili+es to set the
project tone and direc+on:
1.  Establish team values
2.  Enforce the rules
3.  Stand up to management
4.  Hold others accountable
5.  Recognize individuals

Environment
1.  Establish team values
•  The team values are the norms of the project
team; they are an agreement on how the team
will act and treat each other. As PMs, we need to
model the team values, communicate them to the
project team, and hold the team to those values.
•  Once we establish the values, we need to make
sure that the team lives up to them by
acknowledging team members who demonstrate
the values.

Environment
2. Enforce the rules
•  Rules, the way that the PM expects others to behave, can
include everything from being on +me for mee+ngs to
reques+ng vaca+on +me.
•  For a PM, enforcing the rules may feel like being the heavy, or
being a bad guy. A project manager may be afraid that they
will not be liked or that others will get angry with them. They
want to avoid conflict because that is easier in the short run.
This can be a defining moment for leader.
•  The best approach is to create an environment where
everybody is part of enforcing the rules. The PM does not
always have to be the only enforcer. The PM needs to send a
clear message about the expected behavior and let it be
known that they expect everyone on the team to enforce the
rules.

Environment
3. Stand up to management
•  The project team wants to see the PM stand up to
management in a while. They want to know that their
leader has the backbone to go bat for them when
needed. For example: when PMs disagree with a
decision or when they need to push back on a proposed
change in scope, budget, resources or +meline. In this
context, management means the PM’s boss, major
stakeholders, or the client.
•  PM that are unwilling to stand up to management may
be viewed as weak or as a pushover. Team members will
feel sold out and resent the downstream impacts if PMs
who are unwilling to push back.
Environment
3. Stand up to management (cont.)
•  That does not mean the PM should fight every
decision that goes against the team. PMs need to
choose their baTles.
•  Further, PMs also need to consider the long-term
consequences of pushing back because PMs don’t
want to create ill will or enemies.

Environment
4. Hold others accountable
•  PMs don’t perform the work of the project; they
direct and make sure that others do that work.
Holding others accountable is crucial when we
don’t have direct authority over team resources
•  PMs hold others accountable is by gaining
agreement on goals and deliverables, sta+ng our
expecta+ons for each person, and publicizing team
roles and responsibili+es. We make the
commitments public and then we support others to
complete the work as appropriate.
Environment
4. Hold others accountable (cont.)
•  3 key parts to accountability
1.  Get agreement on the work to be performed
2.  Make that agreement public
3.  Follow-up
•  PMs should be prepared for individuals who are
unwilling to be held accountable. Addi+onally, PM
don’t just sit by and watch if other fail on their
commitments. PM support others by reminding
them of their commitments, clarifying expecta+ons,
and reques+ng periodic updates.
Environment
5. Recognize individuals
•  Recogni+on is one of the most powerful and underused
tools in the PM’s arsenal.
•  We send a clear message to the team when we give
recogni+on or when we withhold it. Team members will
pay more aTen+on to what is rewarded than to what is
said. The recogni+on informs the team on what is
important to the project team leader.
•  There are nearly infinite ways to recognize people, such
as: public awards, cer+ficates, thank you notes, lunches,
etc. One of the best and easiest ways to recognize people
is to simply stop by and thank them for their work. You
can also thank them in public, in department mee+ng.
Environment
The Team within
the team
•  The reality is that project team don’t operate
in isola+on. They are affected by the
organiza+ons around them. Project managers
cannot afford to ignore the broader
organiza+onal environment.
•  If the organiza+on environment is posi+ve,
the PM will have an easier +me crea+ng a
posi+ve project environment.

Environment
The Team within
the team
•  If the organiza+on environment is not posi+ve,
PMs do not let a nega+ve organiza+onal
environment corrupt a posi+ve project
environment and do not become a vic+m to a
nega+ve workspace. They should:
–  Send the message to their team that the project is
different
–  Communicate the values and rules of the project team
–  Reward those team members who are in alignment and
enforce the rules.
Environment
7 Techniques for Crea+ng
a Posi+ve Team Environment
1.  Assess how team members view the team
environment
2.  Put it in wri+ng
3.  Establish clear accountability and hold people to
it
4.  Hold others to your highest vision for them
5.  Catch people doing something right
6.  1001 ways to recognize people
7.  Fix your broken windows
Environment
environment:
•  Consider a mini-assessment which will evaluate
how you are doing in terms of crea+ng safety,
establishing and communica+ng values, and
resolving conflict.
•  The following is a team health-check mini-
assessment. You can use this tool as it is or tailor
it to meet your specific needs.

Environment
environment (cont.):

Environment
2. Put it in wri+ng
•  Consider working with the team members to
create a set of values, rules, or expecta+ons for
team behaviors. For example:
–  Deadlines for intermediate and final deliverables
–  Quality standards for deliverables
–  Status repor+ng deadlines
–  Time repor+ng standards
–  Weekend work
–  Requests for +me off
–  Conflict resolu+on
Environment
3. Establish clear accountability and hold people to
it
•  There are a number of tools for making sure that
project accountability is clear, for example RACI
responsibility matrix
•  RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted,
Informed) responsibility matrix list the major
deliverables or work assignments in the lei-most
column and list the responsible people across the
top.
Environment
3. Establish clear accountability and hold people
to it (cont.)

Environment
4. Hold others to your highest vision for them
•  Dedicate a chunk of quality quiet +me to think about
each person on the team and their true poten+al. Try
to see them at their very best. Envision what their
future could look like and how you see them
succeeding.
•  Then set up a +me to talk about that vision with the
individual. Tell them how you see them and
encourage them to live up to your vision for them
•  On an going basic, remind them of how you see them
at their best. Con+nue to adjust your vision to the
reality of their growth.

Environment
5. Catch people doing something right
•  Develop the habit of catching people doing
something right and make it part of your
leadership style. Make it a point to track your
efforts for each individual.
•  Establish systems so that you are able to follow
through on your good inten+on of seeing the
best in others. One simple way is to use your
team roster to create a tally sheet. Track the
+mes you were successful in catching each team
member in the act of doing something right.
Environment
5. Catch people doing something right (cont.)
•  If you are having trouble breaking the habit of
catching people doing something wrong, you
might want to create more sophis+cated
measures for yourself:
–  Set a target and track your rate of posi+ve versus
nega+ve comments.
–  Reward yourself for achieving your goals when you
do. When you don’t, make it a point to up the ante in
the next week.
–  Ask you boss, a coach or mentor, or a peer for support
and accountability.

Copyright@STEVBROS
27
Environment
6. 1001 ways to recognize people
•  Make a list of the people on your team and track
how many +mes you recognize their work over
the course of a week.
•  See how crea+ve you can be in recognizing the
work of others. No one ever complained about
too much recogni+on. Let people know that you
are serious about recognizing and apprecia+ng
the effort and results of the team.
Environment
7. Fix your broken windows
•  You can apply the broken windows theory to your
project environment.
–  Take a moment to conduct an honest assessment to see
if there are any rules or standards that people don’t
adhere to in your environment.
–  Develop an inventory of the rules and standards, and if
there are lapses, develop ac+on plans to address any
regula+ons that are not being followed.
•  You can get the team or key members of your team
involved. Use their input in those areas where you
may have blind spots.

Copyright@STEVBROS
29
Environment
Summary
•  8 characteris+cs of the best projects
•  2 factors makes a great project team: A world of
difference, and resonance and dissonance in
project leaders
•  5 steps that PMs can take to become more
resonant
•  5 PM leadership responsibili+es to set the project
tone and direc+on
•  7 techniques for crea+ng a posi+ve team
environment

Environment

End of lesson 1.

Thank you!

Environment

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Chapter

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

•  Resonance and dissonance in project leaders

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

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Lesson 1 - Create A Possitive Team Enviroment

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Chapter

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

• Resonance and dissonance in project leaders

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

Lesson 1: Crea+ng Posi+ve Team

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•  Resonance and dissonance in project leaders