‭ he‬ ‭manager‬ ‭hopes‬ ‭the‬ ‭conflict‬ ‭will‬ ‭"go‬ ‭away."‬ ‭It‬ ‭seldom‬ ‭does.

‬ ‭Usually,‬ ‭it‬ ‭just‬‭festers‬

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‭underground‬‭until‬‭pressure‬‭builds‬‭up‬‭to‬‭the‬‭point‬‭of‬‭explosion.‬‭Then‬‭the‬‭manager‬‭has‬‭a‬
‭crisis to deal with.‬

‭ . Identify the problem.‬

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‭A‬ ‭problem‬ ‭is‬ ‭a‬ ‭gap‬ ‭between‬ ‭where‬‭you‬‭are‬‭and‬‭where‬‭you‬‭want‬‭to‬‭be,‬‭with‬‭obstacles‬
‭existing that prevent easy movement to close the gap.‬

‭ .‬ ‭What‬ ‭do‬ ‭you‬ ‭envision?‬ ‭Note‬ ‭that‬ ‭the‬ ‭vision‬ ‭has‬ ‭been‬‭spelled‬‭out‬‭as‬‭a‬‭list‬‭of‬‭things‬
2
‭you‬‭must‬‭have,‬‭along‬‭with‬‭some‬‭that‬‭you‬‭want‬‭to‬‭have‬‭and‬‭a‬‭few‬‭that‬‭would‬‭be‬‭nice‬‭to‬
‭have‬ ‭if‬ ‭you‬ ‭could‬ ‭get‬ ‭them.‬ ‭Vision‬ ‭is‬ ‭what‬ ‭the‬ ‭final‬ ‭result‬ ‭will‬ ‭“look‬ ‭like.”‬ ‭It‬ ‭defines‬
‭“done.”‬
‭3. The mission of a project is always to achieve the vision. It answers the two questions‬
‭“What‬‭are‬‭we‬‭going‬‭to‬‭do?”‬‭and‬‭“For‬‭whom‬‭are‬‭we‬‭going‬‭to‬‭do‬‭it?”‬‭In‬‭doing‬‭so,‬‭it‬‭solves‬
‭the stated problem.‬
‭4. Once a mission statement has been developed, you can write your project objectives.‬
‭An‬ ‭objective‬ ‭specifies‬ ‭a‬ ‭desired‬ ‭end‬ ‭result‬ ‭to‬ ‭be‬ ‭achieved.‬ ‭Objectives‬ ‭should‬ ‭be‬
‭SMART. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-limited or Time-bound)‬

‭Conflicts between Individual Goals and the Team’s Mission‬

“‭ A‬ ‭manager‬ ‭should‬ ‭try‬ ‭to‬ ‭satisfy‬ ‭the‬ ‭needs‬ ‭of‬ ‭the‬ ‭organization,‬ ‭while‬ ‭simultaneously‬
‭helping individuals satisfy their own needs through participation in the project.”‬

‭ oles and responsibilities‬

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‭“There‬ ‭is‬ ‭no‬ ‭such‬‭thing‬‭as‬‭a‬‭stupid‬‭question—except‬‭perhaps‬‭the‬‭one‬‭you‬‭were‬‭afraid‬
‭to ask.”‬

‭Working Out Procedures‬

“‭ So-called‬ ‭personality‬ ‭conflicts‬ ‭are‬ ‭often‬ ‭simply‬ ‭the‬ ‭result‬ ‭of‬ ‭people’s‬ ‭lack‬ ‭of‬ ‭good‬
‭interpersonal skills. This lack can be resolved through training.”‬

‭Relationships in Teams‬
‭ ne‬‭thing‬‭to‬‭be‬‭aware‬‭of‬‭is‬‭that‬‭many‬‭personality‬‭clashes‬‭are‬‭the‬‭result‬‭of‬‭people’s‬‭lack‬
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‭of‬ ‭good‬ ‭interpersonal‬ ‭skills.‬‭We‬‭have‬‭never‬‭been‬‭taught‬‭how‬‭to‬‭sit‬‭down‬‭and‬‭work‬‭out‬
‭differences‬‭with‬‭others,‬‭so,‬‭when‬‭the‬‭inevitable‬‭conflict‬‭happens,‬‭the‬‭situation‬‭just‬‭blows‬
‭up.‬ ‭The‬ ‭best‬ ‭way‬ ‭to‬ ‭minimize‬‭the‬‭impact‬‭of‬‭such‬‭problems‬‭is‬‭to‬‭provide‬‭training‬‭for‬‭all‬
‭team‬ ‭members‬ ‭(including‬ ‭yourself)‬ ‭in‬ ‭interpersonal‬ ‭skills.‬ ‭This‬ ‭area‬ ‭has‬ ‭been‬ ‭sorely‬
‭ eglected‬‭in‬‭many‬‭organizations‬‭because‬‭there‬‭seems‬‭to‬‭be‬‭no‬‭bottom-line‬‭impact.‬‭It‬‭is‬
n
‭hard to demonstrate that there will be a $10 return on a $1 training investment.‬

‭A Final Suggestion or Conclusion‬

I‭f‬ ‭you‬ ‭want‬ ‭some‬ ‭good‬ ‭models‬ ‭of‬ ‭how‬ ‭to‬ ‭work‬ ‭with‬ ‭teams,‬ ‭take‬ ‭a‬ ‭look‬ ‭at‬ ‭the‬ ‭best‬
‭coaches and see how they do it.‬

‭Skills Required of Project Managers‬

‭ hat‬‭follows‬‭is‬‭a‬‭general‬‭list‬‭of‬‭the‬‭kinds‬‭of‬‭skills‬‭that‬‭project‬‭managers‬‭need.‬‭This‬‭list‬
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‭might‬‭form‬‭the‬‭basis‬‭for‬‭a‬‭career‬‭development‬‭program‬‭for‬‭project‬‭managers.‬‭Note‬‭that‬
‭it covers the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of‬
‭Knowledge (PMBOK) fairly closely.‬

‭ ne‬ ‭reason‬ ‭for‬ ‭the‬ ‭problem‬ ‭is‬ ‭that‬ ‭most‬ ‭attention‬ ‭is‬ ‭given‬ ‭to‬ ‭the‬ ‭tools‬ ‭of‬ ‭project‬
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‭management‬ ‭Work‬ ‭Breakdown‬ ‭Structures,‬ ‭PERT/CPM‬ ‭or‬ ‭Gantt‬ ‭schedules,‬ ‭and‬
‭perhaps‬‭earned‬‭value‬‭analysis‬‭and‬‭very‬‭little‬‭regard‬‭is‬‭given‬‭to‬‭the‬‭human‬‭element.‬‭Yet‬
‭most‬ ‭of‬ ‭the‬ ‭work‬ ‭that‬ ‭goes‬ ‭into‬ ‭projects‬ ‭is‬ ‭done‬ ‭by‬ ‭people,‬ ‭and‬ ‭too‬ ‭many‬ ‭project‬
‭managers‬ ‭do‬ ‭not‬ ‭have‬ ‭the‬ ‭required‬ ‭skills‬ ‭in‬ ‭dealing‬ ‭with‬ ‭people‬ ‭to‬ ‭get‬ ‭the‬ ‭job‬ ‭done.‬
‭There‬ ‭is‬ ‭a‬ ‭tacit‬‭assumption‬‭in‬‭this‬‭country,‬‭expressed‬‭by‬‭our‬‭actions,‬‭that‬‭anyone‬‭who‬
‭can do the technical aspects of a job can be a manager.‬

‭ he‬‭assumption‬‭is‬‭expressed‬‭by‬‭the‬‭fact‬‭that‬‭we‬‭make‬‭managers‬‭of‬‭individuals‬‭without‬
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‭giving‬ ‭them‬ ‭any‬ ‭formal‬ ‭training‬ ‭in‬ ‭managing,‬ ‭and‬ ‭then‬ ‭wonder‬ ‭why‬ ‭they‬ ‭are‬ ‭not‬ ‭as‬
‭effective‬‭as‬‭we‬‭think‬‭they‬‭should‬‭be.‬‭This‬‭is‬‭akin‬‭to‬‭giving‬‭someone‬‭a‬‭high-performance‬
‭race‬ ‭car‬ ‭without‬ ‭any‬ ‭training‬ ‭in‬ ‭driving‬ ‭it.‬ ‭In‬ ‭fact,‬ ‭I‬ ‭have‬ ‭often‬ ‭thought‬ ‭that‬ ‭a‬ ‭person‬
‭should have a "people-operating license" before being allowed to manage.‬

I‭t's‬ ‭not‬ ‭in‬ ‭our‬ ‭nature‬ ‭we‬ ‭weren't‬ ‭trained‬‭as‬‭psychologists‬‭and‬‭sociologists‬‭but‬‭the‬‭time‬

‭has come if you're going to want to basically realize or make your project success.‬

‭ e‬‭know‬‭that‬‭the‬‭actual‬‭work‬‭gets‬‭done‬‭by‬‭people‬‭and‬‭that‬‭we‬‭must‬‭therefore‬‭find‬‭ways‬
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‭to‬ ‭get‬ ‭the‬‭best‬‭possible‬‭performance‬‭from‬‭them.‬‭Indeed,‬‭it‬‭is‬‭often‬‭because‬‭of‬‭''people‬
‭problems" that we have difficulty in applying the tools themselves.‬