TEAM: Project Team Environmental Analysis

Step Two:  Place a mark on each of the four lines of the Project Team Environmental Analysis Graph, based on the team members’ assignment of ratings for each of the four environmental elements.

Step Three: Draw a line between the mark on the Authority line and the mark on the Triangulation line [forming the supply of resources line]. Draw a second line between the mark on the Expectation line and the mark on the Motivation line [forming the demand for resources line].

Step Four: If the two lines intersect, forming an “X,” then demand equals support (at least roughly) and the team is properly designed for sustained performance. If the lines do not cross, then the spans are misaligned. If resources (Authority plus Triangulation) are insufficient for the task at hand, strategy implementation will fail [ineffectiveness]. If recourses are excessive, underutilization of assets and poor economic performance can be predicted [inefficiency].

A crisis of resources is most likely to occur when leaders who oversee project teams spend too much time thinking about authority, motivation and expectations, and not enough time thinking about triangulation.

A crisis of control is likely to occur in highly decentralized organizations where separate business units are created to be close to customers. Supply of resources (authority, plus triangulation) exceeds an organizational leader’s ability to effectively monitor project team trade-offs (expectations) and to ensure coordination of knowledge sharing among teams (motivation).

A crisis of red tape can occur in any organization where powerful staff groups overseeing key internal processes, such as strategic planning and resource allocation, design performance management systems that are too complex for the organization. Levels of environmental expectations and motivation are very high, but resources are insufficient and misdirected.  The demand for resources exceeds supply.

Tools for Coaching

The attached pdf documents includes several useful for the coach who is working with the leader of a team or with the entire team: (1) illustrations of several Project Team Environmental Analyses, (2) a summary of the four elements, (3) a more detailed listing of the steps to be taken in conducting such an analysis, (4)  the assessment tool, and (5) the graphic tool to be used in plotting the assessment tool results.