Understanding the Power of the Team (PoT) is critical to enhancing team effectiveness.

It is based on the principles articulated in General Colin Powell’s definition of leadership: “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible”.

To accomplish more than the science of management says is possible, teams must have the individual and team skills required to complete the work effectively, and they must be committed, highly motivated and thoroughly trust each other.

In other words they must have “heart”. The PoT service uses a simple concept to identify the skills required for a team to be effective and is illustrated as ‘PoT = (is + ts) * h’; where ‘is’ = individual skills; ‘ts’ = team skills; and ‘h’ = heart.

The PoT service is focused in two dimensions: leaders and team members.

Leaders can identify the individual and team skills required to deliver a project, and the leadership skills, tools, and techniques necessary to build the heart of the team. Team members can identify the individual and team skills they can contribute to the project, those they would like to develop as members of the project, and how they can contribute to developing the heart of the team.

To complete the PoT, a series of working sessions will be held with the project leadership and the project team members to complete the elements of the formula.

Analysis will be completed and results reviewed with the teams to confirm gaps. A plan to fill the gaps will also be developed with the leadership and team members.

Completing the PoT service will create a plan to fill any individual and team skill gaps identified, and will provide a Leadership Plan for the project. The end results should be a team capable of achieving more than the science of management says is possible.

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Bad luck is often the predictable outcome of a bad decision.

Improving the quality of decisions made, and the speed at which they are made will enhance team effectiveness.

The Structured Decision Making (SDM) service provides a series of fit-for-purpose procedures to support decisions from the very tactical to the very strategic; recognizing the relative complexity and level of detail appropriate for each.

The SDM service is designed to develop improved decision making abilities in the team through a do/help/watch model. A series of small working sessions will be held to introduce the concepts to the team, and to identify decisions that need to be made. Initially Lead Mark Project Delivery will lead the process to make the decision. Once the team is comfortable with the procedures, a member of the team will lead the process with Lead Mark Project Delivery helping. The level of help provided will diminish as team members become more effective until such time as further support is no longer required.

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Projects are made up of sets of activities and tasks, which are often small projects unto themselves. While the Project Manager may be a well-trained professional project manager, team members may not have the experience or training necessary to successfully plan and execute the small projects assigned to them.

The Small Project Management (SPM) service enhances team effectiveness by providing team members with the skills and tools necessary to plan and execute small projects assigned to them. It provides common language, processes and tools to support the fit-for-purpose application of three small project management concepts:
Make sure you have a reasonable plan
Monitor and adjust while the project is underway, and
Finish strongly.

To complete the SPM service, a series of workshops are held with team members to explain the concepts, and introduce the tools. Further working sessions with small groups will be held where teams work through the processes and tools using real-life small projects assigned to them. Ongoing coaching and mentoring can also be provided if desired.

Completing the SPM service will result in better quality planning and execution of the small projects within the larger project. It will also provide the team with valuable skills, concepts and tools they can use to plan and execute other small projects they may be assigned in the future.

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Projects are complex activities with many stakeholders with different experiences, priorities and interests. A traditional project organization focuses on the Project Manager as leader and can sometimes disenfranchise other stakeholders. This can result in decisions that are inadvertently biased or unbalanced.

The Project Leadership Team (PLT) service enhances team effectiveness by providing a framework to ensure a more balanced approach to project leadership.
To complete the service, a stakeholder analysis review is completed through a small-group working session supported by one-on-one interviews. A fit-for-purpose PLT structure, and plan to implement it, is developed and presented to leadership for review and approval. Once approved the model is implemented through small-group working sessions, supported with tools, and coaching and mentoring as required.

Completing the PLT service will result in better engagement with stakeholders, improved team behaviours, and more balanced decision-making.

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