Anatomy of a Good Project Team

As I sat in a meeting this morning I forced myself to repeat the nine knowledge areas of PMBOK, alphabetically, as well as sequentially. Really, I was trying to jump start my brain at a ridiculously early hour of the morning, and as the PM areas rolled through my head… Project Integration Management, Project Time Management… I realized that these can certainly define the anatomy of a good project, but the true makeup of a good project is the people.  And if you have ever part of a good project (and if you have, you know this to be true without needing to think about it!) you realize that without having to spend a second thinking about it.

Good projects are really about good people. They are the smart, talented folks who may never have even studied project management, but inherently, they know what needs to be done. Regardless of their technical background or business acumen, they understand that good people and good projects are all about rolling up the sleeves and going to bat. They are a synergy that forms as a result of the right people coming together at the right time. It is almost a spiritual bonding, where nothing explicitly must be said, because it all comes together.

This trait, this blend, this melding if you will, is the core of a good project. Teams on such projects can work miracles. They can implement a large-scale portal solution with software that is still in beta within 90 calendar days, to include hardware acquisition.  These folks can implement terabytes of data storage with a BI reporting tool in a matter of weeks. These are the folks who can do the undoable, they are the A team.

If you have been part of a good project team, you know exactly what I am getting at here. If you have not experienced this firsthand, but have heard stories, you might want to take another look at your project team and staffing practices. Do you create your team based on personality? Does your team share the passion and vision for delivery that you do? Do you invite the team to participate in defining and living the project with you? Or do you rely on the project management knowledge areas and hope that this will lead to success? I say knowing this difference and proactively charting your course will make the difference between a marginal and highly successful project. Moreover, it will make for a good project team that you won’t forget about that easily. Nor will your client!