Are traditional management tools sufficient for diverse teams?

Abstract

Two issues which confront today’s managers are diversity and teams. The contradictory nature of these two terms, in the form of a diverse team, makes it appropriate that the role of many traditional project management tools and techniques be examined. This article describes how the leadership of a diverse team was able to successfully accomplish a major project on time and under budget. They used traditional project management tools and techniques but modified them to fit the requirements of the team. One primary area for focus was on identifying behaviors all team members should exhibit in order to for the project to be successful. After the behaviors were identified, applied behavior analysis was used to reinforce the desired behaviors. By focusing on behaviors which built trust and encouraged open communications, the team was able to take advantage of the diverse experience and backgrounds of all team members. This allowed the team to push decision making well down into the organization, motivate all team members around the objectives of the project and develop flexible processes which were enhanced as the project moved forward. This article attempts to describe and explain the major lessons the team felt they learned for this project.