Introduction

Projects need people. One of your first tasks as project manager is to assemble a team of people with relevant skills who will help enable the project's objectives to be met. A team is not the same as a group. A group of people may all be doing the same thing at once, but they are acting individually, not in co-operation. Imagine this situation:

A group of people in an office are quietly getting on with their own work when the door opens.'Help! I've got to get 30 information packs ready for the managing director to take to Edinburgh in half an hour.' Immediately, the room is galvanized into action. Somebody clears the central table. Somebody else gets stacks of leaflets out of the cupboard. Someone else drafts a covering letter and prints out 30 copies.Another individual handles all the telephone calls coming into the room.Three people are soon collating leaflets into wallets while someone checks the contents and adds the letters.In 20 minutes,the packs are ready.

For 20 minutes, the group turned itself into a team. This happened because everyone understood the need to achieve a particular goal. They took on the variety of roles which were necessary for the task to be completed and co-operated to meet their objective.

In crisis situations teams can come together spontaneously and achieve great things. One of the reasons why some people enjoy team sports is that they experience a similar kind of commitment, co-operation and excitement at their achievements.

A...