Motivating the Project Team

Experts say that individual and team motivation is the leading factor affecting the
productivity of a project team. There are a few steps the Project Manager should take to
ensure that the foundation of sound motivation is in place in the project environment.
In 1985, I had an assignment to select videos for a training program for front-line
supervisors in an engineering services company. I watched many videos on hiring
interviews, performance evaluations, discipline, and motivation. On the subject of
motivation, I viewed a number of videos and then reviewed them in my mind to see
which one to pick for our training course. I was surprised to observe that they all said
essentially the same thing. There are three things required to have a motivated employee:
first, provide clear ownership of a defined task; second, ensure the person has the ways
and means to do the task; and finally, follow-up with timely feedback and hold the
individual accountable for results. The more I use these three steps, the more profound,
powerful, and simple they become to me. I've packaged this information as "the
motivation triangle," to help make it easy for people to remember and apply.
The Motivation Triangle

Much of my work as a project manager involves applying the motivation triangle
throughout the day. I make sure everyone has work to do. Do they have enough
assignments in their queue so they have something to work on if they hit a road block or
get bored? Are their tasks well defined? Do they know what the results should look
like? After that, I make sure they have the wherewithal to accomplish their tasks. Do
they have the tools and training? Do they have the ways and means to accomplish the
task? Do they need help? Do they need me to make any phone calls to get information,
tools, or assistance? If they have all they need, then I leave them alone to do their work.
I make sure we agree on what results are expected, but I try to let them decide how they
want to do it. A few days later, I'll drop by and say, "How's it going?" Then is the time
to praise good quality work, done on time, and to encourage better performance if
progress seems inadequate. This might be formalized as a weekly review of task status,
to update schedules and assess earned-value or task percent complete.
More than 9 times out of 10, this simple process will produce motivated workers. The
ones who do not respond to this are special cases that need to be handled through a
formal process of performance counseling.
The idea of giving people clear task ownership is VERY important in project work. The
motivation triangle applies to managing project managers as well as to managing team
members. It even applies to managing whole organizations!
Building Project Disciplines in Organizations
Recently I was working on a presentation that addressed what it takes to deploy project
management methodologies in organizations. A methodology implementation requires
three indispensable components. It must address "what" should be done on projects, that
is, it must prescribe policies and practices to be used in the project environment. Next, it
must address "how" the practices should be applied. This may involve definitions,
instructions, training, and help (forms, examples, templates, systems, data). The final
part required is management FOLLOW-UP. Without follow-up, project management,
and specifically implementation of project management disciplines in organizations, is
just not going to happen (because it requires significant effort and resolve).
It turns out that the motivation triangle applies here too. To implement a methodology,
you have to tell the organization what is expected of them. Next, you need to provide the
tools and training so they can do what is expected. And finally, you need to have
management follow-up to monitor the success of the implementation and to hold people
accountable for doing what is required.
Superficial Project Management Solutions
When organizations have problems with projects, many organizations try to address it
superficially by buying copies of Microsoft Project software or sending people to get
training in Project Management 101. This is not an effectual way to improve project
performance. Why?
This is addressing the second leg of the motivation triangle before the first leg. It is
giving the troops the ways and means before they know what their responsibilies are.
I've taught project management courses to people in companies where the people said,
"We don't know why we are here." The training was just a frustration for them. The
policies and practices need to be prescribed first. Then people can be profitably taught
how to fulfill their responsibilities.
If the organization doesn't know what they want people to do, and sends them to training
so they will figure it out, then management is not doing its job. Management needs to
figure out what business it is in and then be diligent in learning what it takes to be
successful in that business. (See Rule #1.)
Worst Practices - To Avoid!
Make it unclear who is responsible for tasks; don't trust anyone with clear
ownership, but ask several people to get the job done.
Keep yourself very busy, so team members will see how valuable you are, even if
you have no time to supervise their assignments, solve problems, or monitor work
methods.
Assign new team members to tasks without adequate task definitions, guidance or
training; use the sink or swim method for work assignments.
Let poor performers continue without comment, and ignore gossip and dissension
among project team members.
Reward your excellent performers by giving them an impossible workload; let
them be the heroes to carry the project on their backs.
I'm not trying to be negative or sarcastic here, but it is sometimes helpful to describe
negative behaviors we want to avoid to help us recognize them and not fall into the traps.
Managing by Milestones
Projects are often stressful and hectic. It is hard to keep focused on what is important. It
is normal on a stressful project for the Project Manager to have that glazed look of the
deer caught in the headlights. The best way to cope with this is to rely on fundamental
principles, to define achievable objectives, and focus on short-term successes. What
needs to be done? Understand and document the requirements. How will we do it?
Prepare a reasonable plan. Assign staff ownership of tasks. Make sure they have good
task definition and the ways and means to accomplish the work.
The best feedback is success, so structure your project to be an endless series of little
successes. On a challenging project, managing by mini-milestones is the only way to
keep things moving. You could have a success every few days. Then celebrate and move
on. Mini-milestones can lead to eventual project success if they are chosen well. This
means that every significant task will be structured as a mini-milestone with criteria for
determining when it is done.
For projects to succeed, the goals need to be well defined and clearly communicated to
the project team. If definition and communication do not occur, successful project
completion becomes a random stroke of luck (the odds of which are akin to winning the
lottery). Effort engaged with poorly defined targets is futile and, consciously or not, the
whole project team will sense this. An incomprehensible or unachievable goal lowers
morale and kills enthusiasm and motivation. This, in turn, affects the quality of the work
and further lowers chances of success.
Build Team Dynamics
In addition to the benefits of having highly motivated individuals on your project team,
there is an additional opportunity for increased team motivation and productivity. When
building the project team, make sure people are committed to working hard for the team
to succeed. Job satisfaction and career growth are often important goals for project team
members. Find out what each team member win conditions are, and try to make these
part of the project goals. When you are able to get your project staff to work well together
towards a challenging goal (ideally in groups of 7, plus or minus 2), a real team may
emerge. When a team gels, it can go way beyond a mere group of people. Team synergy
transcends the mundane. It is supercharged. Not only does this produce high performance
for the project, it also provides a genuinely satisfying human experience for the team
members. Creating an environment in which such a team can gel is one of the ultimate
goals of the Project Manager.
Copyright 2001, James R. Chapman, All rights reserved.