7. Team building Leadership and Management

I described in detail the book on issues related to the formation and management of software development teams in the book [1]. In this lecture we will focus only on the key points of this activity.

There are two sides to the work of the project manager: management and leadership, which are equally important and cannot exist in isolation from each other. You can not be the leader of material resources, cash flows, plans, schedules and risks. They need to be managed. Because things do not have the right and freedom of choice inherent only in man.

Intellectual people cannot be controlled. Creative teams can only be guided and led. “High-performance management in the absence of effective leadership is like streamlining the arrangement of chairs on the deck of the sinking Titanic.” No success in management compensates for the failure in leadership ”[2].

Effective teams do not form by themselves; they crystallize around a recognized leader. As there are no leaders without followers, there are no teams without leaders. Therefore, the first step of the leader in creating an effective team is to become a leader around which the working team can rally. Leader can not be appointed.

Leadership, first of all, is the ability to manage your own life and only then other people. Ultra-high IQ, unfortunately, does not help. A person’s personal effectiveness is 80% determined by his EQ (Emotional Intelligence) Emotional Intelligence Ratio [3] - his ability to understand and effectively interact with other people. Good news. Unlike IQ, which is formed in early youth and then practically does not change, EQ can be increased throughout life. Unless, of course, to make this effort.

The leader must receive recognition from the team. To do this, you must:

• Recognition by the team of professional competence and leadership excellence.
• The team’s full confidence in the actions and decisions of the leader, recognition of his human qualities, conviction in his honesty, decency, faith in his sincerity and integrity.

If a manager is unable to become a leader, he will be forced to use managerial anti-patterns in his practice [1]. For such a leader is characterized by excessive vigilance, secrecy, inability to delegate authority. It comes from the premises of the industrial era of Henry Ford: “Workers are lazy, so they need external incentives to work. People have no ambition, and they are trying to get rid of responsibility. To force people to work, it is necessary to use coercion, control and the threat of punishment. ” Manfred Kets de Vries [3] calls this deviation "paranoid control".

It is useless to try to motivate team members to succeed in a project without excluding demotivation practices from their leading arsenal — antipatters, the use of which in the management of creative teams does nothing but harm. Instead of motivating employees to succeed, the use of anti-patterns motivates them to avoid risk and negative consequences for themselves, suppresses freedom, autonomy, creativity and initiative. This leads to destructive subordination, when everyone works strictly according to the instructions and only in accordance with the instructions of the management, and the complete lack of personal responsibility of the performers, “And what are the complaints about me? As they said, I did just that! ”As a result, low efficiency and quality of work, deterioration of the moral climate. Instead of trust and teamwork, suspicion and formal interaction flourish. Have you ever seen a tmlid talking to a programmer only “by protocol” and with signatures on each sheet? Finally, the use of antipatterns is stress, fatigue of participants, personal problems, the dismissal of the most professional employees and the failure of the project.

An effective leader must have the following competencies:

• Vision of goals and strategies to achieve them.
• Deep problem analysis and search for new opportunities
• Focus on success, the desire to get the best results.
• The ability of sympathy, understanding the status of team members.
• Sincerity and openness in communication.
• Conflict resolution skills.
• The ability to create a creative atmosphere and a positive microclimate.
• Tolerance, the ability to accept people for what they are, the adoption of their rights to their own opinions and mistakes.
• Ability to motivate the correct professional behavior of team members.
• The desire to identify and implement individual opportunities for professional growth of each.
• The ability to actively "provide", "get", "knock out", etc.

There is no one better leadership strategy. Depending on the willingness of the members of the working group to fulfill the tasks of the leader, he must use one of the 4 strategies [4]:

1. "Directory management". Leader says, points, directs, installs. Hard assignment of works, strict control of the timing and results.
2. "Explanations." The leader "sells", explains, clarifies, convinces. Combination of directive and collective management. Explanation of their decisions.
3. "Participation". A leader participates, encourages, collaborates, shows devotion. Priority collective decision-making, exchange of ideas, support for the initiative of subordinates.
4. "Delegation". The leader delegates, observes, serves. "Do not interfere" - the passive management of an established leader.

The application of these strategies can be illustrated with examples (Figure 41).

1. You have been appointed head of the new team. You have not yet received recognition, but you need to do business. Strategy: “Directory Management”.
2. You were a member of the team. You have been appointed the head of this team. There is trust, but there is no confidence in the correctness of your actions. Strategy: Explanations.
3. You have been appointed head of the new team. Everyone knows about your previous complex and successful projects. Everyone recognizes your superiority, but there is no trust in you. No one knows what price your victories were achieved. Strategy: "Participation."
4. Mutual trust is established between you and the participants. Everyone is motivated enough for the success of the project. Everyone can be his own leader. Strategy: "Delegation."

Figure 41. Situational leadership.

The main efforts of the head, if he is seeking to obtain the highest productivity of the working group, should be directed at studying and changing the object of management: people and their interaction. Consequently, we can divide the task of adaptive control into two subtasks:

1. Ensure the effectiveness of each member of the working group.
2. Provide effective interaction processes.

Right people

Ronald Reagan said: “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, give them power and do not interfere with them.”

Over the years I have developed my own vision of the correct team behavior. Effective team player:

• Takes an active position, seeks to expand its responsibility and increase personal contribution to the common cause.
• Constantly acquire new professional knowledge and experience, put forward new ideas aimed at improving the efficiency of achieving common goals, seeking to disseminate their knowledge, experience and ideas among colleagues.
• He enjoys his work, is proud of its results and strives to make all his colleagues feel the same feelings.
• He is clearly aware of his personal and common goals, understands their interdependence, and persistently seeks to achieve them.
• He is confident in himself and in his colleagues, objectively assesses their achievements and successes, is attentive to their interests and opinions, and is actively seeking a mutually beneficial solution in conflicts.
• He is an optimist, while he firmly knows that the world around us is imperfect; He perceives each new problem as an additional opportunity to confirm his own professionalism in his own eyes and in the opinion of his colleagues.

However, there are behavioral pathologies that, in my opinion, are unacceptable in the team:

• Dishonesty. Falsity, lack of conscience and a sense of justice, the ability to act low.
• Syndrome of acute deficiency of empathy. Egocentrism. Disrespect and inattention to partners. Propensity to negative ratings of others. Rudeness. "Every man for himself! “No one will help you!” “Man is a man to a wolf!”
• Zvezdanost. Heightened self-esteem. Emphasizing your own excellence. Cleverness. A person greatly overestimates his personal contribution to the common cause and therefore believes that he should work less than his “less capable” colleagues.
• Vulgar anarchism. Freemen is a complete irresponsibility, freedom from any obligations to others, unrestrained expressions of feelings, actions or actions. “To arbitrarily, to act voluntarily, to offend others, arrogantly, defiantly” (c) V. Dahl. Not to be confused with "freedom"!
• "Social parasitism." The desire to live at ease at the expense of others, where responsibility is blurred, and personal contribution is difficult to clearly distinguish.

My recommendation: to treat the pathology “surgically” - to get rid of problem people. Raised in kindergarten, well, a little more in elementary school. Then people are brought up only on their own, and others can only help or not interfere in this process. I am convinced that every adult person has what he consciously or unconsciously strives for. Nursing and educating a person means protecting him from problems, blocking his path to rethinking his experience and development, “driving the disease inside” with the help of “social aspirin”.

I know exactly four necessary and sufficient conditions for an employee to effectively solve the task set by me. it

1. Understanding the objectives of the work.
2. The ability to do it.
3. The ability to do it.
4. The desire to do it.

In order to ensure that these conditions are met, the manager must be able to effectively perform four functions:

1. Guide. If the employee does not understand what to do, the task of the manager is to provide a common vision of the goals and strategies for achieving them.
2. To educate If the employee does not know how, the task of the manager is to “train” to be a mentor and role model.
3. To help. If the employee cannot complete the work, the manager’s task is to “help”, to provide the executor with all the necessary things, to remove obstacles from his path.
4. Inspire. If an employee doesn’t have enough desire to do the work, the task of the manager is to “inspire”, to ensure adequate motivation of the participant throughout the project.

Motivation

It is known that no task will be solved for any time allotted for this, if a person does not want to do it. He will always find to justify this 100 "objective" reasons, instead of finding at least one way to solve the problem. Each member of the working group should have a personal goal (intrinsic motivation), which he can achieve by promoting the project to success.

Start with yourself! You need to clearly understand what is your gain in the event of successful completion of the project. To achieve from the participants of the commitment to the project more than you have yourself, you will not succeed. If the participant does not have such a meaningful personal goal, get rid of it. Otherwise, you have to spend all your time on “brainwashing him” and trying to motivate him to work effectively.

Motivation must begin with the selection of employees in the team. In the old economy, people were hired for skills and taught the right attitude. In the new economy, you need to do the exact opposite: hire for the right attitude to the business and teach the necessary skills.

People are not born winners, they become them. A candidate should be hired only if you can offer him the opportunity to become a winner. The real leader offers not work, but opportunities.

All people are different, and there are countless situations in which they can be in the course of a project. Fear stereotypes. If you do not take into account the individual characteristics of a particular person, then the effectiveness of your interactions is greatly reduced. The model of the object of management is unknown to us, therefore, there cannot be an exhaustive set of rules, such as “if ..., then ...”, according to which the head could act. Therefore, how many people and situations, so many solution options must have an effective leader in their reserve. “If a manager only has a hammer in his hands, then everything around will look like nails.”

The leader in the search for solutions relies on his knowledge and skills. He tries to understand each participant, to classify the condition, to find a similar situation in his experience and to adapt the previously used successful solution to this particular case. Thus, the manager seeks to help the person (management object) to move to a new, more efficient state from the point of view of the project objectives.

Then the manager should monitor the results of his impact - this is an additional feedback loop. It must be remembered that one can understand a person only by listening and hearing what he is saying. A manager who did not communicate individually with each of his direct subordinates for a week, in vain receives a salary. And it’s not necessary to talk about the status of design work. Sometimes it is enough to talk about the weather, the cinema or football. After that, the manager analyzes the results obtained and accumulates new experience (positive or negative) in his “knowledge base”.

The more experienced a manager is, the more accurately he can recognize and classify the current situation, the more there are precedents in his “knowledge base”, using which he can synthesize a solution for this particular case. That is why in the management of software projects, first of all, the experience of the manager is valued and only then, perhaps, his rank and knowledge.

The programmer consists of four components: body, heart, mind and soul.

1. The body needs money and security.
2. Heart - love and acceptance.
3. Reason - development and self-improvement.
4. Soul - self-realization.

Leave it all to your employees, and their work efficiency will increase many times. Otherwise, people who want to win will find all this in another team, and only losers will remain in your team.

Effective interaction

We have already said that the software production process used in the project should be based on iteration, incrementality, team self-controllability and adaptability. The main principle: not people should be built under the selected process model, but the process model should adapt to a specific team in order to ensure its highest performance.

In software engineering, many have already recognized that the most efficient production processes are formed in self-governing and self-organizing work teams. The ideas of team management in the West originated in the early 80s. The effectiveness of teams in the new economic conditions was one of the first to be evaluated by such giants as Procter & Gamble and Boeing [5]. The team management doctrine presupposes clarity of common values ​​and goals, self-organization and self-management of joint activities, mutual control, mutual assistance and interchangeability, collective responsibility for the results of work, full development and use of individual and group potentials.

If in the West, team management ideas are only emerging, then for Russia they have long traditions. From the XIII century, there were production artels in Russia - various forms of voluntary associations of people with the aim of carrying out a common economic activity. The Artel was a voluntary partnership of completely equal workers, called upon to solve practically any economic and production tasks on the basis of mutual assistance and mutual assistance. Famous Russian writer and revolutionary, A.I. Herzen saw in collectivism, in the uniqueness of the existing rural community, in the city artel and in the original military organization of the Cossacks a characteristic feature of the life and psychology of the Russian people. Later in Soviet times, workers' brigades became widespread in production, and in research institutes temporary scientific creative teams were united, which were united on the basis of common goals, mutual assistance and collective responsibility for the result.

True Russian collectivism (sobornost) has nothing in common with vulgar collectivism: with herd instinct, suppression of personality (“I am not, only we are!”, “I am the last letter of the alphabet!”), Compliance, group psychology and blind subordination of the minority to the majority. The essence of the Russian collectivism is that a person feels himself to be an element of an organic system, where he performs his function, his task, which is completely special, which no one else performs and cannot accomplish. He performs this task quite consciously, striving for the maximum realization of his goals.

Руководителю недостаточно стать лидером, надо еще суметь сплотить команду. Эксперты в области командного менеджмента выделяют 4 обязательные последовательные стадии, через которые должна пройти рабочая группа прежде, чем она станет эффективной командой.

1. Forming. Формирование. Характеризуется избытком энтузиазма, связанного с новизной. Люди должны преодолеть внутренние противоречия, переболеть конфликтами прежде, чем сформируется действительно спаянный коллектив. На этом этапе многое зависит от руководителя. Он должен четко поставить цели членам команды, верно определить роль каждого в проекте.
2. Storming. Disagreements and conflicts. The most difficult and dangerous period. The motivation of the novelty has already disappeared, and the team has not yet had strong and deep incentives. Inevitable difficulties or failures give rise to conflicts and a “search for the guilty”. Team members through trial and error work out the most effective interaction processes. The leader at this stage is important to ensure open communication in the team. Conflicts should not be hidden or chopped. Disputes must be settled calmly, patiently and carefully.
3. Norming. Становление. В команде растет доверие, люди начинают замечать в коллегах не только проблемные, но и сильные стороны. Закрепляются и оттачиваются наиболее эффективные процессы взаимодействия. На смену битве амбиций приходит продуктивное сотрудничество. Четче становится разделение труда, исчезает дублирование функций. Руководитель перестает находиться в состоянии постоянного аврала, работа по построению команды на этом этапе — уже не тушение пожара, а скрупулезный труд по отработке общих норм и правил.
4. Performing. Отдача. Команда работает эффективно, высок командный дух, люди хорошо знают друг друга и умеют использовать сильные стороны коллег. Все стремятся придерживаться выработанных общих процессов. Высок уровень доверия. Это лучший период для раскрытия индивидуальных талантов.

Часто случается, что рабочая группа вязнет на одной из стадий и никогда не достигает плато наивысшей производительности.

Если команда прошла все стадии формирования и вышла на фазу «Performing», не стоит полагать, что менеджер проекта может делегировать все свои полномочия и отправиться в отпуск. Задача менеджера на этом этапе — «точить пилу». Это значит поддерживать требуемый уровень мотивации, быть штурманом, искать новые пути и открывать новые возможности. Постоянно наблюдать и оценивать эффективность всех процессов, применяемых в проекте. Искать ответ на вопросы: «Что угрожает проекту?» «Что лишнее мы делаем?» «Что можно делать проще?» Работать на сокращение ненужных усилий вместо того, чтобы «стремиться к новым героическим подвигам».

Если руководитель не будет прилагать дополнительные усилия команда, рано или поздно, начнет «сползать» с плато наивысшей эффективности в состояние застоя и стагнации (Рисунок 42). Помните, что окружение и команда изменяются по ходу проекта. Прежняя мотивация ослабевает или перестает действовать. Изменяйте правила и процессы. Отказывайтесь от того, что перестало действовать или стало работать неэффективно. «Встряхивайте» (Reforming) и возвращайте команду в стадию «Forming». Это позволит ей снова, пройдя через все этапы становления, выйти на новый более высокий уровень производительности. Разумеется, делать это следует, после сдачи очередного релиза программного продукта, ну и, возможно, в случае глубокого кризиса проекта.

Рисунок 42. Reforming. «Встряхивание» и перевод команды проекта на новый, более высокий, уровень производительности.

findings

Эффективные команды не образуются сами по себе, они кристаллизуются вокруг признанного лидера. Для того чтобы стать лидером, необходимо:

• Признание командой профессиональной компетентности и превосходства лидера.
• Полное доверие команды к действиям и решениям лидера, признание его человеческих качеств, убежденность в его честности, порядочности, вера в его искренность и добросовестность.

Мотивация должна начинаться с подбора сотрудников в команду. В старой экономике людей нанимали за умения и обучали нужному отношению к делу. В новой экономике необходимо поступать с точностью до наоборот: нанимать за нужное отношение к делу и учить необходимым умениям.

Рабочая группа прежде, чем она станет эффективной командой, должна пройти четыре обязательных последовательных стадии: 1) Forming, 2) Storming, 3) Norming, 4) Performing.

Если руководитель не будет прилагать дополнительные усилия команда, рано или поздно, начнет «сползать» с плато наивысшей эффективности в состояние застоя и стагнации. Задача менеджера на этом этапе — «точить пилу»: поддерживать требуемый уровень мотивации, быть штурманом, искать новые пути и открывать новые возможности. Четыре стадии развития команды должны циклически повторяться, чтобы обеспечить непрерывный рост производительности.

Additional literature and sources

1. С. Архипенков, "Руководство командой разработчиков программного обеспечения. Прикладные мысли", 2008
2. Стивен Р. Кови, «7 навыков высокоэффективных людей. Мощные инструменты развития личности», 2-е изд., М., Альпина Бизнес Букс, 2007.
3. Manfred Kets de Vries, “Mystic Leadership. The development of emotional intelligence ", M., Alpina Business Books, 2005.
4. Hersey P., Blanchard KH "Management of Organizational Behavior", 6th ed., Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1993.
5. L. Thompson, “Creation of a team”, M., Vershina, 2005.