Team planning for project managers and business analysts

Supplying busy project professionals with time-tested tips and templates for developing teams efficiently and effectively, Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts provides the planning materials required to increase team collaboration and productivity in a global workplace.

This comprehensive resource offers insights and access to critical resources and tools to create, propose, execute, and evaluate team development plans. Dr. Levitt's insights will enable readers to transform their visions, mission statements, goals, and deliverables into actionable plans for their teams.

Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts evaluates the strengths and performance gaps in each of the five stages of team development--forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning--and outlines methods for creating a team development plan and addressing the challenge of gaining upper management commitment.

With a focus on succession planning for the team, Dr. Levitt considers team brain capacity and how to plan for the transfer of knowledge within the organization. In addition to the many templates and guidelines included, the book offers a variety of practical team development guidelines to ensure that team activities, including kick-off meetings and project status reviews, are both engaging and productive.

Author Notes

Gail Levitt, Ph.D., is a knowledgeable leadership strategist, facilitator, and coach dedicated to developing global leaders and their teams to perform more efficiently and effectively. She provides a unique perspective as a former marketing administrator, business development strategist, product manager, project team leader, and corporate consultant.

Levitt is president of Levitt Communications Inc., a corporate service organization offering courseware, templates and tools, training, and consulting in leadership communications, especially related to team problem solving, conflict management, collaboration, and influence. Previously, she worked for twenty years for leading organizations in publishing, packaged goods, computers, education, and government, resulting in extensive expertise in leadership and team development pitfalls and best practices. She has spoken extensively at conferences on project management, business analysis, customer service, and team development and has written articles on team leadership issues for professional publications. The recipient of numerous awards for poetry, she has also presented academic papers at the International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College for three consecutive years.

Gail Levitt holds a doctorate in cultural studies from the University of Exeter in England. She also earned a master's degree with high honors in English from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champagne, and a bachelor's degree in English from Hobart-William Smith College in Geneva, New York, graduating summa cum laude.

Foreword	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
About the Author	p. xvii
Chapter 1 Team Planning in a Project Environment	p. 1
Stereotype of Team Planning	p. 1
Truth about Team Planning	p. 5
Visionary	p. 5
Methodical	p. 8
Observant	p. 9
IQ-Intellectual Ability	p. 10
EQ-Emotional Ability	p. 11
Team Planning Skills	p. 12
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 13
Chapter 2 Evaluating the Team	p. 15
Team Life Cycle	p. 15
Five Team Stages: Task and Relationship Focus	p. 16
Observing Team Strengths and Gaps	p. 17
Observing Teams in Conflict	p. 18
Conflict Levels and the Team Stages	p. 19
Forming Teams: Hidden and Emerging Conflict	p. 19
Storming Teams: Emerging and Active Conflict	p. 19
Norming Teams: Active Conflict and Aftermath	p. 20
Performing and Adjourning Teams: All Four Levels	p. 20
Identifying Team Stages: Art and Science	p. 21
STARS® Method	p. 21
STARS®	p. 22
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 30
Team Life Cycle	p. 30
Team Stages	p. 30
STARS® Method	p. 30
Chapter 3 Creating a Team Development Plan	p. 33
Protecting Your Project Assets	p. 34
Team Development Plan: What Is It?	p. 35
Team Development Plan Components	p. 36
Team Vision	p. 37
Determining the Team Mission	p. 40
Setting Team Goals	p. 41
Identifying Team Deliverables	p. 41
Team "SWOT" Analysis	p. 41
Performance Indicators	p. 42
Team Performance Action Plan	p. 45
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 52
Team Development Plan	p. 52
Chapter 4 Getting Buy-In for the Team Development Plan	p. 55
"Selling" the Team Development Plan: Challenges and Opportunities	p. 56
External Obstacles	p. 57
Internal Obstacles	p. 57
Gaining Buy-In and Commitment: The Process	p. 58
Tips for Influencing Upward	p. 60
Tips for Influencing Team Members	p. 62
Influencing Team Members: Communication Guidelines	p. 63
Providing Continuous Reinforcement	p. 63
Modeling the Plan	p. 65
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 67
Concept of "Selling" the Team Development Plan	p. 67
Influencing Successfully	p. 67
Modeling the Team Development Plan	p. 67
Chapter 5 Influencing Multigenerational Team Members	p. 69
Teamwork: A Multigenerational Concept	p. 70
Multigenerational Characteristics	p. 71
Matures	p. 71
Cultural Experiences	p. 72
Work Values	p. 73
Work Strengths	p. 73
Baby Boomers	p. 73
Cultural Experiences	p. 74
Work Values	p. 74
Work Strengths	p. 75
Generation Xers	p. 75
Cultural Experiences	p. 75
Work Values	p. 76
Work Strengths	p. 76
New Millennials	p. 77
Cultural Experiences	p. 77
Work Values	p. 78
Work Strengths	p. 79
Team Leadership Preferences	p. 79
Tips for Engaging Each Generation	p. 80
Engaging Matures	p. 80
Engaging Baby Boomers	p. 81
Engaging Generation Xers	p. 81
Engaging New Millennials	p. 82
Generational Alliances and Conflicts	p. 82
Multigenerational Alliances	p. 82
Multigenerational Conflicts	p. 84
Building Multigenerational Collaboration	p. 85
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 86
The Generations	p. 86
Team Leadership Preferences	p. 86
Building Multigenerational Collaboration	p. 86
Multigenerational Leadership Essentials	p. 87
Chapter 6 Facilitating Team Development at Meetings	p. 89
Facilitation Power	p. 90
Facilitating as a Process	p. 91
Leading versus Facilitating Meetings	p. 92
Creating Ground Rules	p. 92
Sample Ground Rules	p. 94
Enforcing Ground Rules	p. 94
Facilitator Competencies	p. 94
Managing Expectations	p. 95
Appealing to Styles	p. 97
The Four Ds	p. 98
Discussing:	p. 98
Debating:	p. 98
Deciding:	p. 99
Debriefing:	p. 99
Questioning and Listening	p. 99
Open Questions	p. 99
Closed Questions	p. 100
Clarifying Questions	p. 100
Keeping Others Focused	p. 102
Transitions	p. 102
Internal Previews	p. 102
Internal Summaries	p. 102
Signposts	p. 103
Building Collaboration	p. 103
Managing Resistance and Conflict	p. 104
Guidelines for Managing Conflict responses	p. 104
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 105
Facilitating at Meetings: An Essential Team Development Skill	p. 105
Chapter 7 Team Succession Planning	p. 107
Evaluating the Team "Brain" of Knowledge	p. 107
Team "Brain Drain"	p. 111
Guidelines for Team Knowledge Transfer	p. 112
To Do	p. 112
To Avoid	p. 113
Knowledge Transfer Methods	p. 114
Creating a Team Succession Plan	p. 115
Team Succession Plan Components	p. 116
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 117
Team "Brain" of Knowledge	p. 117
Knowledge Transfer Guidelines	p. 117
Knowledge Transfer Methods	p. 117
Creating a Team Succession Plan	p. 118
Chapter 8 Leading Team Transformation	p. 119
Transforming Teams at a Project Level	p. 120
Leading Transformation: What Is Required?	p. 120
Supporting the Vision	p. 121
Communicating the Team Vision	p. 122
Focusing Teams on the Vision	p. 122
Benefits of a Transformational Team	p. 124
Drawbacks for Teams Undergoing Transformation	p. 125
Team Skills Needed for Transformation	p. 125
Leading Team Transformation: Best Practices	p. 127
Why Teams Lose Their Transformative Powers	p. 128
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 129
Transforming Teams: Best Practices	p. 129
Chapter 9 Future of Teams	p. 131
Necessity for Team Development Planning	p. 132
From "Soft" to "Essential"	p. 132
Changes in Project Team Membership	p. 134
Trends for PMs and BAs	p. 136
From Project Specialists to Business Generalists	p. 136
From Office to Home	p. 136
From Left Brain to Whole Brain	p. 137
Becoming More Entrepreneurial	p. 137
Becoming Relationship Managers	p. 138
Coaching Peers	p. 138
Managing Upward	p. 139
Demonstrating Career Resiliency	p. 139
Summary: Key Ideas	p. 140
Future of Team Development Planning	p. 140
Appendix	p. 141
A.1 PM and BA Team Planning Competency Assessment	p. 142
A.2 Observing Team Behaviors: Checklist	p. 144
A.3 Team Conflict Observation Guide	p. 146
A.4 Identifying Team Stages Using STARS®	p. 149
A.5 Team Development Plan Template	p. 158
A.6 Team Performance Action Planner	p. 162
A.7 Selling the Team Development Plan: Influencing Conversation Template	p. 165
A.8 Communicating the Team Development Plan: Checklist	p. 166
A.9 Modeling the Team Development Plan	p. 168
A.10 Leading Multiple Generations on Teams: Comparison Chart	p. 169
A.11 Building a Stronger Multigenerational Team: Checklist	p. 171
A.12 Facilitating Team Development at Meetings	p. 173
A.13 The 4Ds Planning Template	p. 175
A.14 Building Team Collaboration Checklist	p. 176
A.15 Team Meeting Facilitation Best Practices Checklist	p. 177
A.16 Team Stages and Activity Goals	p. 178
A.17 Team Competency Needs	p. 179
A.18 Evaluating the Team "Brain" of Knowledge: Checklist	p. 180
A.19 Team Transformation Guidelines	p. 184
A.20 Team Transformation Skill Development Planner	p. 186
A.21 Team Succession Planning Template	p. 189
A.22 Preparing for the Future: Team Development Checklist	p. 191
Selected Bibliography	p. 193
Index	p. 195

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