Project Manager Training

Designed for:

Project managers who seek to enhance their skills for successfully managing cross-functional teams composed of people from multiple departments or companies. This course is for people who have managed small intra-departmental projects and want to expand their project management skills to manage larger, cross-functional projects.

You will:

Learn techniques for: developing a strong leadership style, creating an effective project team culture, dealing with diversity, overcoming communication challenges and inspiring excellent team performance to deliver strategic business results for your customer.  You'll read chapters in your textbooks, listen to lectures and view movies of teams encountering and solving the problems faced in every cross-functional project effort.

Modules

Learning Objectives

Assignment & Feedback

What Makes a Project Team Effective?

Identify the characteristics of an effective project team and the key differences between workgroups and teams.

Using a project team with which you are familiar, describe and evaluate the team's characteristics, strengths,  weaknesses and team member roles.  Submit them to your instructor for coaching and feedback.

Movies: "The Dysfunctional Project Team" & "Work Group vs. Work Team"

Developing Effective  Project Teams

Set a clear direction, create a vision, obtain commitment and coordinate the team effort.  Create an effective team climate and manage the team-building process.

Define the elements of vision and direction,  then analyze the factors that increase/decrease your team's effectiveness.

Movie: "Forming, Storming & Norming"

Leadership Styles

Learn effective leadership attributes, the tools to develop them and the team phases in which effective leadership is most crucial.

Compare yourself and/or your team's leader to effective team leader attributes and analyze how to exhibit/encourage those characteristics. Submit this to your instructor via e-mail for feedback.

Movie: "The Stylish PM"

Diversity and Communication Challenges

Comprehend the critical dimensions of cultural differences and team member roles in the multi-national project team culture. Evaluate and apply techniques to capitalize on the cultural diversity of your team and increase performance.

Evaluate your team's dominant cultural orientation/behavior and its impact on performance. Craft resolutions for behavior and communication obstacles resulting from team member's cultural diversity.

Movie: "Coping with Diversity"

Team Communication Plan

Develop an effective communication plan, including constructive listening and communication channels. Overcome communication barriers, destructive roles and conduct efficient team meetings.

Identify communication barriers you've faced and how you have resolved them. Analyze your project team meetings and apply methods and techniques to improve their effectiveness. Submit this to your instructor for coaching.

Movie: "Lotsa yakking, No listening"

Team Building Process

Identify the symptoms of ineffective teams and learn a team development model. Evaluate the communication enhancers/barriers and measure team performance. Master six conflict management styles and when to apply each for maximum effectiveness.

Evaluate your team's effectiveness and performance, then define ways to encourage the performance drivers and overcome the performance barriers.

Apply each of the conflict management styles to your project and evaluate which would contribute to the most positive, long-term team environment.

Movie: "Conflicts Abound"

Inspiring High Performance Teams

Use negotiation, authority and accountability to build team values and increase motivation. Encourage effective team decision-making and apply creativity in problem solving.

Describe your use of power and its effectiveness. Identify your team's morale and trust levels and the actions you can take to increase them.  Use the six guidelines for effective decision-making on an issue confronting your team.

Movie: "The Virtues of High Team Performance"

Work Requirements & Credits

This course requires 60 hours of work which includes reading, listening to lectures and viewing slides and movies. You will use a project from your work throughout the course to demonstrate your mastery of the subject matter. Send your assignments to your instructor for individual coaching and feedback within 24 hours, 7 days a week.  Your instructor will also answer your questions within that time frame.

It earns 3 ACE graduate school credits and 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs).