Managing People in Projects for High Performance: Behavioural Approach to Productive Project Teams

Description

This book examines practically useful management and people skills, and looks at competencies from the micro, meso, and macro- lens. At the micro- level, the book examines a range of competencies needed for managing oneself and others in a project environment, such as personality style, cognitive skills, communication skills, and emotional intelligence. The book will also includes discussion on strategies for managing emotions of self and others effectively. At the meso- level, the book discusses basic structure, characteristics, and importance of different types of teams such as virtual teams, project teams, domain specific teams, and heavy-weight teams in organizations to enhance productivity and delegate accountability. It also explores team processes, including structure, culture, supporting systems, performance and incentive systems, and their impact on team productivity. In addition, the book includes a discourse on skills to manage a multi-generational workforce (a combination of baby boomers, X and Y generation), a challenge faced by project managers in current scenario. Finally, at the macro- level, the book captures the role of culture in a project context; emerging leadership styles in projects, maintaining relationship with internal and external stakeholders; role of power, politics and influence in relationship building (social networks and social capital); and managing conflicts and negotiations. The book presents ethical considerations in managing projects; relationship between projects and sustainability; societal responsibilities of projects; advantages and disadvantages of forms of control in projects (behaviour and outcome control). It is positioned primarily for practitioners although it is a relevant and useful resource and reference for academics and students of project management and management studies courses. Preface Praise for Managing People in Projects for High Performance Contents About the Authors Part IManaging Self 1 Module 1: Managing Self 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Personality and Performance 1.3 Big Five: Personality Factors 1.4 Risk Taking Potential 1.5 Managing Stress and Time 1.6 Summary References 2 Cognitive Intelligence 2.1 What Is Cognitive Intelligence 2.2 Analytical Intelligence 2.3 Creative Intelligence 2.4 Practical Intelligence 2.5 Key Cognitive Skills 2.5.1 Analytical Skills 2.5.2 Critical Thinking 2.6 How to Enhance Critical Thinking 2.6.1 Creative Thinking Skill 2.7 How to Improve Creativity? 2.7.1 Problem-Solving Skills 2.8 Summary References 3 Emotional Intelligence 3.1 Self-awareness 3.2 Self-management 3.3 Understanding Others 3.4 Managing Others 3.5 Summary References 4 Making Decisions 4.1 Types of Decisions 4.1.1 Classification of Decisions Based on Information and Judgement 4.1.2 Classification Based on Degree of Participation 4.1.3 Decision-Making Styles 4.1.4 Group Decision-Making in Projects 4.1.5 Biases in Decision-Making 4.1.6 Communicating Decisions 4.2 Summary References Part IIManaging Teams 5 Understanding Teams 5.1 Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teams 5.2 Groups 5.3 Teams 5.4 Differences Between Groups and Teams 5.5 Types of Teams 5.6 Importance of Project Teams 5.7 Belbin’s Team Roles 5.8 Importance of Teams 5.9 Summary References 6 Dealing with Diverse Teams 6.1 Theoretical and Practical Foundations of the Concepts 6.2 Motivation 6.3 Team Development 6.4 Behavioural Issues 6.5 Conflict 6.6 Culture 6.7 Generational Differences 6.8 Management Versus Leadership 6.9 Summary References 7 Enhancing Team Performance 7.1 Organization Structure 7.1.1 Functional Structure 7.1.2 Projectized Structure 7.1.3 Matrix Structure 7.2 Team Structure 7.3 Team Role in Learning Organization 7.3.1 Role of Technology in Knowledge Sharing 7.4 Leadership Role in Team Performance Development 7.5 Summary References 8 Developing Productive Teams 8.1 Negative Behavioural Issues 8.1.1 Delegation Versus Micro-management 8.1.2 Managing Conflicts 8.2 Performance Measures 8.2.1 Team Charter—Performance Measures of Team Members 8.3 Traditional and Virtual Project Teams 8.4 Team Effectiveness 8.4.1 Knowledge Sharing 8.4.2 Technology and Team Effectiveness 8.5 Summary References Part IIIManaging Organizations 9 Understanding Project Culture 9.1 Introduction 9.2 What Is Culture? 9.2.1 Stop and Think: Can You Think About Visual Artefacts that Made You Form an Impression About an Organization You Visited Recently? 9.3 National Culture 9.3.1 Stop and Think: Have You Had a Similar Experience When You Met Someone from a Different? 9.3.2 Stop and Think: Can You Think of Circumstances Where You Have Observed Some of These Differences? 9.4 Organizational Culture 9.4.1 Stop and Think: Do Any of These Classifications Resonate with the Culture of an Organization You Are Working in or Familiar with? 9.5 Project Culture 9.6 Organizational and Project Culture 9.7 Cultural Intelligence 9.7.1 Stop and Think: Have You Come Across People with Some of the Abilities Described in Table 9.5? 9.8 Conclusions 9.9 Summary References 10 Leading Projects 10.1 Introduction 10.2 What Is Leadership? 10.3 Management Versus Leadership 10.3.1 Stop and Think 10.4 Leadership Theories 10.4.1 Stop and Think 10.4.2 Stop and Think 10.4.3 Stop and Think 10.5 Project Leadership 10.5.1 Transactional and Transformational Leadership 10.5.2 Stop and Think 10.5.3 Stop and Think 10.5.4 Stop and Think 10.6 Leaders and Followers 10.6.1 Stop and Think 10.7 Competencies 10.8 Leader Development 10.9 New Perspectives 10.10 Conclusions 10.11 Summary References 11 Relationship Management 11.1 Introduction 11.2 What Is Relationship Management? 11.3 Stakeholders 11.4 Engaging with Stakeholders 11.5 Power Politics and Influence 11.6 Creating Social Capital with Stakeholders 11.7 Dealing with Conflicts and Negotiations 11.8 Psychological Contract 11.9 Conclusions 11.10 Summary References 12 Ethics in Projects 12.1 Introduction 12.2 What Is Ethics? 12.3 Ethical Considerations in Projects 12.4 Ethical Decision-Making 12.5 Societal and Ecological Responsibilities in Projects 12.6 Forms of Control in Projects 12.7 Standards and Practices 12.8 Conclusions 12.9 Summary References