Week 4: Case Study- High Performing Teams
12571Trevor was all they had. Old school and trading on past glories with a couple of preferred suppliers (mates really), Trevor was not the ideal choice to manage this renovation project. Project management had changed from being all about technical mastery to now knowing how to manage the delivery of the project—on time, on budget and in scope. Times had changed, but sadly Trevor hadn’t.
A qualified carpenter and registered builder, Trevor had always been a ‘hands-on’ kind of guy, never afraid of getting in and getting the job done, even if it meant doing the work himself. So technically, his work couldn’t be faulted—although it was known that he sometimes took unnecessary shortcuts (which had so far not come back to bite him). However, outside of his limited technical range, Trevor always struggled to engage, influence, direct and manage both his stakeholders and team members, as expected of a competent and practising project manager.
Trevor always struggled to engage, influence, direct and manage both his stakeholders and team members, as expected of a competent and practising project manager.
So Leanne, the CEO of Aged Care Renovations (his employer), faced a dilemma. Having just won the $800,000 contract to refurbish a residential wing at the local retirement village, she knew this project was politically sensitive, commercially crucial and community conscious, so there could be absolutely no slip-ups. Not only did Trevor need to manage the project, he needed to be the public ‘face’ of the project. As she sat in her office, Leanne was hesitant to act.
Following his appointment and juggling his operational property management role, Trevor was tasked with pulling together his team for this project. With everyone literally drowning under their own operational priorities and direct reports, it proved to be an ongoing nightmare as no one really had the time, nor in some cases the skills, to take on yet another ‘conveyor belt’ project. However, with a bit of begging and pleading, Trevor pulled together something resembling a team, although it was more likely a bunch of uncommitted conscripts than a productive team.
With no recognised learning and development background (apart from his trade qualifications), Trevor failed to realise the challenge he faced in not only bringing his team together, but also identifying the assistance they would need to get ready to take on this project. While he had enrolled in different training courses over the years, Trevor’s stock-standard response to any training was that he knew everything and the trainer was an idiot who couldn’t teach him anything. Yes, Trevor certainly wasn’t the perfect role model for his team.
With marginal social skills, Trevor knew he would struggle with getting to know his team on both a personal and professional level (though he would never admit this). He didn’t really understand any of this new age ‘psycho-babble’ around personality profiles, team roles and other profiling psychometric tools, and couldn’t have cared less about getting his team to play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Trevor also realised that, given the real operational and project conflicts under which his team would be working, he would have to work hard to motivate, if not reward, his team (where appropriate) through some form of performance-review process. Privately, Trevor had no idea what any of this meant or involved, as in his day you were lucky to have a job, and performance was expected if you wanted to keep your job, no matter what level it was.
As Leanne reflected on Trevor’s appointment, she realised that her own reputation and that of the company was at stake.
1. What are the key issues surrounding this case?
2. What behaviors do you think Trevor has to change and model to create a High Performing Project Team?
3. What steps could Trevor have taken to develop his human resources (over time) into a highly conforming and performing team?
4. How could Trevor identify the learning and development needs of his team to ensure they each had the prerequisite skills and knowledge to perform their project work?
5. Create a Communication Plan for Trevor’s team.
Include a 50 – 150-word response for each question.
Submit the responses to questions in a single document.
Use at minimum two sources in correct grammar and APA 7th edition writing format.
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