Group dynamics and high performing teams
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With the arcade project just around the corner, people are starting to form their own groups ahead of it. It is clear that the people who have ambitions and the motivation to create something great are seeking each other out. Many of the other project managers have already managed to form teams of highly skilled individuals. At first it was also my intention to try to create such a group. However, I ended up not doing so. I am still one of the people who strive to create something great, something I can be really proud of. This does not only include having a succesful project, but also creating a high performing team. So why did I choose not to? Keep reading! At a normal workplace the project manager is more or less given a group of individuals to work with. He or she can not simply choose the cream of the crop and have them be part of some kind of super group. In fact, I would say that the greatest challenge for any kind of manager or leader is to make a team function properly, no matter what kind of individuals the group consists of. During this time with the Shoot’em up project, I definitely did not have the best group (nor did I have the worst one!). I am however more than happy with the group I was given, because I learned so much from the difficulties we faced. When I talk to other project managers who did not experience the same kind of issues, many simply believe that they are more skillful in their methods. I disagree with that completely, I truly believe we are all more or less equally skilled as managers at this time. You learn from your mistakes, and I as a person quickly figure out what works and what does not work by doing this over and over. If things work well from the very start of the project, it is easy to believe that you are doing things properly, while in fact it might just be that the group as a whole is overqualified. By willingly putting ourselves in that kind of situation (of having a highly skilled team) at every chance we get, it is in my opinion, very possible that it will hinder the natural development of our skills as project managers Instead of seeking out the elite to form a super group, I think it is more beneficial for everyone involved that the formation of groups is random. Besides, something that happens a lot in, for example esports, is that such elite teams form, and they almost always fail. They might have the best player on paper on every role in the game, but they still can’t beat lower tier teams. The team is of course very good, but it should be performing better, at least on paper. This holds true for almost all other types of groups in the “real world” as well. So why does that happen? I do talk a lot about DSDM in this blog, but I truly think that their philosophy is perfectly in harmony with the way I want to work. One of the principles of the DSDM framework is “Communicate continously and clearly”. In DSDM the risks of bad communication is naturally highlighted, but they also talk about the benefits of good communication. For example, a person who is highly skilled but lacks the communication- and social skills necessary to function in a team environment, will have a detrimental effect on the project. DSDM recognizes that such an individual has to be trained to be able to communicate and work with the rest of the team, before they can add value to the project. What I am talking about here is more broadly known as “Group dynamics”. Teams that have more skilled individuals but also lack communication skills will perform worse than a team that is not as skilled but that instead has excellent communication. I am therefore confident that by having a group randomly selected I will be able to (with proper technique), deliver a game that is just as good as these “super groups”. In the end, we are here to learn, and for every problem I encounter, I refine the way I work and improve as a result. I therefore not only accept problems, but I also embrace them. Susan Wheelan talks more in-depth about group dynamics in her book “Creating effective teams”. By using a model that looks at the development of a project group through different stages, the most common problems and their solutions are presented. The goal for the project manager is to navigate the team from stage 1 of mistrust and insecurity to finally becoming a high performing team at stage 4. The main problem with these short duration projects of only 2 months or so, is that there simply is not enough time to reach stage 4 (or even stage 3) While this might seem to contradict a lot of what I have stated previously, I still find it doable to create a somewhat efficient team in significantly less time, by being aware of the group dynamics present in the group and incorporating different techniques to improve them. There is however another possible scenario that needs to be noted. If the project manager of one of these “super groups” is succesfully incorporating such techniques to improve the group dynamics, the group will most likely create something that has the potential to win awards. One of the risks is that there is a possibility of a too smooth project, which in the case of us project managers results in less useful experience for future projects. Another possible scenario is that the group does not perform as expected, which is far more likely. Not only might there be problems with the group dynamics, but working in an elite environment causes a lot of pressure on the team members. In conclusion, I am still unsure if my decision is the right one. I truly want to create something great and to work with similarly motivated individuals, but at the same time I am also here to learn. I do not seek the easy way. I personally find it much more interesting to lead an underdog team that is not expected to do as well as some other teams. Only time will tell how things pan out, thank you for reading!
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