Getting the right people on your project is one of the most important responsibilities you have as a project manager. Many project managers don't seem to understand they have options here and it is their responsibility to get appropriate staffing.



If you're an active project manager, then you probably can relate to this typical example of how a team gets formed: There are somewhere between three and ten mid-to-senior executives in a room somewhere, guessing about your resource needs, based on their own experience plus some early input from you. They look into their own organizations, decide who they want to give to the project, and - Voila! - your team is born.

Now, some of these people will be great. They will be exactly who you would have chosen. In fact, some of them may be exactly who you DID choose. However, you probably do not even know some of the people who are now on your team. The bigger the project and the broader its scope, the more of these unknowns you will have.

Here are 7 strategic tips that will help you assess your team and analyze whether or not it is designed for success:

1. Sit for an hour or two by yourself and write down how you want yourself and your project team to work together. Get clear on the type of manager you want to be, the degree of delegation you want to do, the 'culture' you want to create within your team; e.g. friendly, excellence, high-energy.

2. Look at your current team make-up to see if the key people fit with what you just wrote; the quality of your people resources is a direct indicator of the quality of your results.

3. Don't accept under-achievers, or other manager's cast-offs, just because they are offered and you need people. Projects move fast, and a poor performer can get you off track - fast.

4. Be aggressive in seeking full-time resources. Full-time resources give you greater flexibility, and take less management time.

5. If you must accept matrixed (shared) staff, be aggressive in seeking greater than 50 of their time or more, get the ability to provide tangible input to their salary and bonus performance review.

7. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. When someone on the team isn't pulling their weight, the most dedicated team members will typically try to make up for that so the project goals can still be met. Don't do that to your best people. Deal with performance issues swiftly and directly.

Being a project manager is not an easy job in the best of circumstances. If you have an insufficient or ineffective team to lead, the job can be sheer misery. For you, for your team, and for all the people in and outside of your company who care about your project's results, do take the time to assemble the best team possible. This checklist will help you be sure you have logic and common sense on your side, so you can take whatever corrective action may be necessary with confidence that you are seeking what's best for all concerned.