BUS 517 Discussion student post responses.

Respond to the colleagues posts regarding:

• As we learned in Week 6, your Project Sponsor and customer informed you that you have to deliver your project much sooner than anticipated. When you break the news to your team, they are not happy with the decision for they are concerned that the project will now fail. Using the information that you learned from readings, what can you do as a leader to ensure your project team that this is the right thing to do? What will you do to motivate them?

KR’s post states the following:

In breaking the news to my team that the Project Sponsor and customer of the project is requesting the delivery of the project much sooner than anticipated, they were not happy. Many were concerned about the possibility of the project failing. As the Project Leader I advised the team that our project will be delivered within the new time line requested and all objectives and goals will be achieved. I provided encouragement to the entire team that will skill set the team has combined we will be able to meet our new time line. I reinforced the objectives and vision of the project and intervened to resolve possible conflicts and prevent stalemates.

I informed them that we would review the budget to identify impact this will have and to ensure that additional funding is provided in key areas, as well as additional resources would be made available to ensure that the project is delivered as per customer request.

Team members will be recognized for their hard work and accomplishments throughout the project. 

Reference

https://www.homeworkmarket.com/sites/default/files/q5/13/09/understanding_and_managing_organizational_behavior_6th_edit…

SW’s post states the following:

If management requested the project be delivered earlier than the original timeline I would understand a project teams justified anxiety. To combat that natural response, as a project manager, I must play to my team’s strengths and sensibilities to get the job done. Some people may strongly believe in the change that the project will bring, and showing them that bringing that change a little sooner can alleviate many of the core problems causing distress in the business may motivate them. Other team members may be more motivated about future job growth and progression. Showing them that getting this project completed sooner, under tight constraints, and showing management that they can perform under such pressure would be instrumental. Using the project’s success as a part of year-end performance reviews and resume or interview tools will grow that person’s motivation to the project.

There are people who are a part of the project team to learn how the business works and learn how to work better on projects. These folks can be bought under the project manager’s wing and shown how to manage the business’s political and structural environment. This type of “internship” role allows a project manager to create a loyal team member who will see the tight constraints as a learning situation and test of ability. The main point of all of these examples is to utilize what the project teams member want and use that as the driver for success. When people can see a positive outcome to their hard work, they are more likely to actually continue to believe in the project scope and drive toward that final vision. Anxiety is an emotion that will find its way to the surface for many reasons, stress from normal project work, need to meet deadlines or even just work/life balance. The project manager must understand what’s important to the project team members or else a request to speed up the project will end in failure.