Divisive Speech

Part of Buddhist practice includes avoiding the 10 non-virtuous actions. One of these actions is divisive speech. I think this project managers should pay attention to this one.

Divisive speech can be thought of as any words that can bring disharmony or create animosity. Politicians do this a lot; trying to create a division between themselves and their opponents while making their opponents look bad.

This type of speech can happen on a project team as well. While I feel conflict can be good, if the conflict includes divisive speech, it can hurt the team. For example, discussing the merits of .NET or Java can be a healthy discussion, but when it turns to insults, there's no benefit.

A successful project relies on a effective project team. This takes time to develop. It's the project manager's job to see that this happens. It can be as simple as having some ground rules established at the start of the project that guides the right behavior. Once the team gets rolling, these rules won't be necessary but during the forming/storming stages, they can help the team move in the right direction. What ground rules do you put in place at the start of a project to ensure your team's success?

A Winning Team

Last night, the local university, University of Kansas (KU), won the college basketball championship in breath-taking style. Now I didn't go to KU, but plenty of people around here did, and even folks like me that aren't big basketball fans or KU fans were still watching last night's game and cheering on the winning team.

So what makes a winning team? Having a common goal helps, especially when things get tough. KU had 3 losses late in the season that must have made them question if they could achieve their goal. That's where good leadership comes in to keep the vision alive.

Teamwork is also important in reaching the goal. Everyone has to understand their role as well as the other team member's roles and they have to be able to communicate effectively among themselves.

So how's your team doing? Do you have a common goal to guide your actions? Is everyone aware of how their piece fits into the big picture? When you reach your goal, do you take the time to celebrate? The streets around KU were sure crazy after the game last night.