Build a winning Project Team
Fundamental to to delivering a championship performance is assembling a TEAM that wants to win. This is a challenging process that requires due diligence in scouting the market, attracting the best players and investing in team development. This is required if the team is going to be successful in getting to the high level of performance that is expected for a lean project. In this article we address how to form and get the team ramped up to win at the lean building game.
It all begins by hand picking the best Players
Team selection is the single most important task for delivering a successful project. Choosing a winning team will require scouting for talent as opposed to picking the low cost players that are always looking for extras to motivate them to play the game. You will want to select players based upon qualifications for creating value . The RFP and interview process should be lean, simple and focus on selecting proponents that have demonstrated the ability to work collaboratively in a spirit of trust to deliver successful high value projects. At a recent Lean Construction Institute (LCI) conference in Boston, one of the sessions was on the latest best practice in assembling a team. This process is outlined in Team Partner Selection.
Head out on the Town together as a Team
A very important step in creating a high performance team is to establish good positive work relationships and get everyone on the same page with regards to the higher level of performance that will be expected. It is recommended to spend some time Forming the Team and building a lean culture. A good first step is to go out for a dinner and get to know the team. This will go a long way when it comes time to dealing with the project challenges that you will need to face together.
It helps to get to know the team on a personal level and have some fun. On our last project we got everyone to tell some crazy ass secret that nobody would ever suspect could be true about an experience. It works try it!
Test for Fitness Level
It is also recommended to benchmark team fitness levels so that you are not going to get shut out on your first play of the game. This is important to identify capabilities and areas of weakness that will need improvement through training and guidance. You will want to test the team on a regular basis on understanding of behavior expectations, the playbook (Last Planer System, Target Value Design), critical success factors such as collaboration, commitment and keeping promises to other team members and managing constraints that could limit performance. We will also need to manage any constraints the team may have with regarding to winning games.
Once we have gotten to know the team to a personal level and determined the fitness level it is time to getting them to a much higher level of performance.
Off to Boot Camp
For new teams without much knowledge of the lean playbook, we need to ramp them up quickly on the fundamentals of the game. A great way to get everyone on the same page is to send them to Boot Camp. At Boot Camp we learn basic lean principles and practices and start to develop the relationships, conversations and commitments that are essential for winning at the game.
Lean Project Delivery is learned through hand-on participation. Boot Camp includes practicing and simulations that demonstrate successful lean principles and practices that will provide a competitive advantage.
Are you ready to Play the PreSeason Squad Game?
The team will want to start practicing all of the plays and strategies they learned at Boot Camp and you will want determine if the team can play well together. The next stage will be for the team to plan to win the next phase of a project in much faster times and with less effort so they book some early wins.
In our next session we will get into more detail about the plays that will enable the team to Hit the Target with Lean Design and Moving the Markers down the field with the Last Planner System
If you are interested in winning more games, Lean Lab has some other fitness programs that you may be interested in.
Good luck playing the game
Murray Guy Lean Project Facilitator
