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Because of the small size of some departments and the lack of sufficient numbers of qualified individuals within departments, many managers wind up assigning one person to more than one project team. This is certainly expedient from the perspective of the department head, in fact, there may be no other option. However, this could be quite problematic from the perspective of the project leader and makes it difficult to build a well-functioning and aligned project team. It is unfair to expect that individuals feels completely part of any one team if there are conflicting demands on their time and energy from two or more teams and project leaders. While there may be little that an individual project leader can do to resolve this situation, the leader must ensure that, at least in those few key departments critical to the project's success, appropriate team representation and sufficient resources and attention are provided. Depending upon the tasks which need to be completed, this may or may not require the full-time commitment of some individuals within the organization. |
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There is significant partnering required between the project leader and the functional manager on many issues, including the fact that both must work together to ensure that the performance of individual team members consistently meet high standards. This means that communications between these two individuals must be frequent, and often times brutally honest. Of course there are organizational barriers which must be overcome and prior relationships which may make this difficult to achieve. It may not be easy for the functional manager to completely understand or accept the role and position of the project leader. This is particularly difficult when the scope and extent of the functional manager's work experience has been within a traditional line organization with defined reporting relationships and responsibilities, whereas the project leader's role is substantially focused on the interaction and interrelationships within a matrix environment (see Fig. 2). |
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Besides expecting individual functional expertise and project experience, it is also absolutely critical for the project leader to expect and demand that every team member perform appropriately as a team player. This is no small task given the fact that often times individuals are hired into organizations primarily for their expertise and not for their ability to work well on a team. Prima donnas, even with strong scientific expertise and considered critical to a project, are quite destructive to the team process and certainly make it difficult for the leader to successfully manage the team. This issue must be addressed quickly and firmly and should be accepted as a shared responsibility between the project leader and the functional manager who need to work in concert to address issues of individual behavior and attitude. |
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