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PM magazine | SPRING 2020
Daniel Janak, MBA, MSPM
GROUP DYNAMICS OF A DIVERSE PROJECT TEAM A CONVERSATION AMONGST MSU PROJECT MANAGEMENT STUDENTS
Diversity has proven itself to be a vital element of companies and corporations. Multiculturalism in Assistant Project project management in the 21st Manager century is an issue that project Morgan State University managers must focus their attention to in order to be successful (Obikunle, 2002). As a member of the Spring 2020 cohort of project managers at Morgan State University (MSU), we realize the importance of diversity and inclusion as it pertains to developing effective project teams. As we wrote articles that showcased the challenges and benefits of diversity in project management, we did not realize that our own team was struggling to understand each other’s divergent personalities and cultures. As a small cohort of nine team members, our struggle inspired an article focused on the challenges we had as students. It is important to remember that “diversity exposes people to different perspectives, and also the way people can grow and empower each other” (Rowland, 2019). We reached out to our author, Daniel Janak, to discuss our challenges and to obtain his perspective on those obstacles, outside of the academic environment. Daniel is a former graduate of MSU’s project management program and a current project manager (PM) on campus, his perspective serves as a lesson in project management, as well as an experience in our program. Q1. As a former capstone student at MSU, what challenges or lessons learned did your group cohort encounter?
uniqueness. We find a way to bring all aspects together, in order to have a successful and highly functioning team. This has proven to be very beneficial, especially in these times. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more online interactions and virtual meetings. The experienced staff who might not be so tech-savvy are able to work with the younger staff, thus allowing an amicable exchange of expertise between diverse team members. Q3. As a Guyanese American man, how does your background play a pivotal role in project management? Are you able to leverage cultural ideals into your project teams? A3. I traveled back to my parent’s homeland, and during that time I was able to experience the residential construction process. Although my background is more commercial construction, they both share similarities such as: understanding the preconstruction process, implementation, and scheduling. What I noticed is that their project turnaround is a lot quicker. Whereas, in America the process is a lot longer because you have to manage more laws and safety regulations. So, I have learned to slow down, take time to figure it out, and use the proven methodologies. When I begin a project, I make sure to compile my risks in my risk management plan. As the project progresses, I analyze all my risks, and add new risks to my risk register as well as create contingency plans,
a younger project manager that may have fresh ideas, but the experienced PM, who has been in this industry longer, may not be open to those ideas. It is the combination of balance between the new ideas, and letting the new PM be heard, while explaining why the preferred methodologies that might garner better results. Q6. Does your own diverse background create obstacles in your current position as a project manager? A6. Yes, it does. Although I was born and raised in the United States, a lot of my family members are from third world countries. Growing up, I thought that the way they operated was the norm however, upon entering the workforce, I learned that it was not the norm. There are different ways to do things, and that has helped me understand different quality standards for different stakeholders. It is vital that I pay attention to quality assurance, as well as quality control in order to produce a good product. It is imperative that I understand that “modern quality management approaches seek to minimize variation and to deliver results that meet defined stakeholder requirements” (PMI, 2017, p. 274). Also, because I am the client, I feel that everyone wants to say yes to me however, I would prefer challenges from consultants. Because of their experience in other projects, I value their opinions and am open to questions and some pushback.
“We leverage everyone’s uniqueness.”
A1. The big thing was diversity. In our group there was a good mixture of male and females. You had the typical graduate students, the ones who just finished undergrad, but you also had graduate students who work full-time, and those who were retired and came back to school to learn new skills. Some major challenges and lessons learned centered around communications between the different cultures and age groups. Many of the younger folks used technology for digital conversation, while some of the older folks preferred phone conversations. The challenge became,” how do we document notes and information in a way that all parties can access and understand it?” Q2. In your experience, how has your capstone cohort helped in your current position as an Assistant PM at Morgan State University? A2. It has been very helpful, because in my current position I am the youngest on the team, as well as the leader of the team. It can become challenging because you do not want to be taken as a joke. I tell team members that I am not the office intern, I may not know it all, but I am here to unite all ideas that are brought to the table. I like to make people feel comfortable, I am more of a facilitator; and communication is so important to me that I promote a sense of togetherness and team unity as it pertains to the all process phases of a project. We have members from Africa, younger entry-level members, and seasoned industry professionals. We leverage everyone’s
in case we have unforeseen issues (the known knowns, and the unknown knowns) we might need to reroute to other tasks until the risks can be mitigated. PMI standards states “ the risk report presents the current level of overall risk exposure of the project that will inform selection of the risk response strategy” (PMI, 2017, p. 440). Q4. How does one integrate differing ideas, when the project team does not relate to your idea? A4. On my team I am the client, so most stakeholders want to make me happy. But I do not agree with that ideology, and during kickoff and other meetings, I am always adamant on informing other stakeholders that if they have an idea that may be better than mine, they should not hesitate to speak up even if they do not think my idea is the best, they should state their reasons. I am open to conversation, and am never interested in being the sole idea maker, I am more interested in collaboration. Q5. What would you say is the biggest obstacle confronting diversity and inclusion in today’s project teams? A5. The biggest obstacle is experience! There are folks who have been in the industry for 10-20 years, who have only worked outside the country. They are used to international standards and have to learn that in the United States certain laws and regulations must be followed. You might also have
Q7. How does language play a role on the field? Does differing cultural backgrounds help or hinder communication, as it pertains to language? A7. In construction, there is a large Hispanic population and communication becomes hindered when you cannot relay information on the field or during an emergency. In my experience, I remember trying to communicate with a contractor about a fire that had occurred behind him, and I was attempting to ask him if he could extinguish it. Unfortunately, we resorted to pointing and using hand gestures to explain what was occurring because we could not communicate with him verbally, and he took it as an insult. It was not our intention to be insulting, but there was an emergency, and we were trying to do all we could to rectify the situation immediately. We had to circle back to our communication management plan, and reference the sender receiver model as a guide to help. As a result of that situation, we have a team member on my current project who speaks fluent Spanish and English, so when we are challenged by language, she is
“I am open to conversation, and am never interested in being the sole idea maker, I am more interested in collaboration. “ able to help us translate our messages. As an added measure, our team is working on learning Spanish, as time permits, so we too can be better communicators with our diverse team. So what did learn from this conversation? We learned that diversity plays... Diversity plays a major role in the lives of project managers, as well as the stakeholders involved in a project. My colleagues and I understand that diversity does not have to be a hindrance, it can serve as an integral part of a company or team. The question is, do you know how to use your diversity to benefit a project? Thanks to Daniel, we all have a clearer insight on how to overcome that obstacle. References: Obikunle, O. (2002). Dealing with Cultural Diversity in Project Management: A Dilemma in Communication. Paper presented at Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium, San Antonio, TX. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. Rowland, M. (2019). The Value of Diversity in Project Management. Association for Project Managers Women in Project Management Conference: London, England Project Management Institute (PMI). (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). 6th ed. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc. Special thanks to contributing authors: Kehinde Ajayi, Miriam Hagan, and Chinedu Nwokeafor.
