MANAGING PROJECTS IN HUMAN RESOURCES, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PHẦN 8 potx

Whatever, happens, I would always try to get to a conclusion that

we are both pleased with and that can be written as an agreement so

that everyone can progress with clear understanding and confidence

that the terms of the agreement will be met.

(Comments made by an experienced project manager)

It is also the role of the leader to keep up enthusiasm for the project, partic￾ularly if there are long periods when nothing much seems to be happening

even if all the milestones are being met. The evidence of progress against

plans does not always shape people’s feelings and perceptions. Projects often

seem to take energy away from the day-to-day work and this can be resented,

particularly if there are no visible results. The role of maintaining the vision

includes reiterating the value of the project and helping others to visualize

the benefits it will bring. Some of the most successful leaders are those who

are able to not only describe their vision to others but help others to see the

vision for themselves in a way that enthuses them and energizes them into

action. Not everyone can be the sort of leader that can engage hearts and souls

in a shared vision, but we can all contribute to motivation.

MOTIVATION AND TEAMWORKING

It is ideal if all the staff on the project to want to achieve the outcomes so much

that they work enthusiastically and cooperatively towards those ends. Much

has been written about motivation, but there is general agreement that for

people to be motivated they have to feel that there will be some reward for

their efforts. This reward need not be financial. In fact, that is usually not a

particular consideration as long as the financial reward is fair for the condi￾tions and range of work. It is often more important for people to feel that their

work is worthwhile, and people often talk about wanting to ‘make a

difference’. The social interaction involved in collaboration to achieve worth￾while goals is often very rewarding in itself. Where there is opportunity for

working together in teams, people are often motivated by having a produc￾tive role and sharing enthusiasm and support. There is evidence that

investment in staff development has a profound influence on the perfor￾mance of an organization:

If you have in place HR practices that focus effort and skill; if you

develop people’s skills; and if you encourage co-operation,

collaboration, innovation and synergy in teams; and you do this for most

146 Managing projects in human resources

if not all employees in the organization, the whole system functions

more effectively and performs better as a result. The effects show

across the board, even in measures of performance as fundamental as

patient deaths in hospitals. If the receptionists, porters, ancillary staff,

secretaries, nurses, managers, and, yes, the doctors are working effec￾tively in a system, the system as a whole will function effectively.

(West, 2002: 12–14)

Staff development and empowerment can be a life and death issue.

There are some things that leaders and managers of projects can do to

maintain a high level of motivation in the project. In the early stages it is

important to make sure that the purpose of the project is clear and that the

contribution that everyone will make is explained. As things progress it is

often useful to reiterate this, to ensure that everyone understands the value

of the contribution made by each individual and team. It is helpful to develop

ways of keeping everyone informed about completion of tasks and activities

so that everyone can share in a sense of progress towards the objectives. Team

members can be motivated by hearing about the successes that are achieved

by others, and can be rewarded by seeing reports of their own success shared

widely within the organization.

Although staff are often very committed to the core values underpinning

their work, these are not often discussed. It can be useful to encourage dis￾cussion of differences in values to discover where the common values bring

people together. The values of the project should provide some common

ground if everyone is committed to achieving them.

It can be productive and reduce discontent to encourage discussion of work

practices and interaction both within teams and in wider interdisciplinary or

interfunctional working groups. Differences can be significant if people have

very different experience and training. If the teams are also multicultural, as

is often the case, there may be many different views about what are consid￾ered effective ways of working. If there are difficulties, most people will be

aware of them and will either talk behind people’s backs or try to ignore

problems. Neither of these behaviours are likely to be helpful in progressing

the project, but regular discussions about shared practice can be constructive

and illuminating.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Building a project team is not a one-off activity that can be achieved through

an ‘away day’, although this can be a useful mechanism. It is a continuing

process that needs to be worked at constantly. The project team may be drawn

Leadership and teamworking 147