Transforming Your Team

Al Taylor is an independent IT contractor in Ontario, Canada.

Project managers understand transformations. They go through many personal transformations on their professional journey, and they facilitate many transformations during each project’s journey—from charter to post-implementation review. Here are some examples:

  • They transform uncertainty and ambiguity into clear direction that allows the team to move forward with confidence and facilitates buy-in from project stakeholders.
  • They transform risky ventures into safe passages by applying risk mitigation techniques.
  • They transform non-believers into project champions by communicating the benefits of the project.

The purpose of this article is to discuss another transformation opportunity: The transformation of the project team into a group of positive-thinking leaders.

I run a senior football team (i.e., grown men who should know better playing tackle football). Like any sport, talent and technical skills count for a lot—but attributes such as passion, intensity and team spirit can transform an average team into a contender. Some of these non-technical attributes represent leadership. At the team’s annual orientation meeting, I say to the players, “In all endeavors, there are leaders and followers. In senior football, we can’t have followers, you all need to lead!” I believe we can make the same statement about projects.

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Published at Mon, 16 Jul 2018 04:00:00 +0000