05: Equal Treatment

When it comes to project team members, it is normal that some will be better at certain things than others. Some will be very competent at what they do and others less so. Some will be more dedicated and some less so. I always have to smile when people raise Belbin roles as a pre-requisite when selecting project teams. “We must have a completer/finisher” is the usual cry but in my humble opinion you are lucky to get people with the technical skills you need, let alone team skills. At the end of the day the project manager usually has to work with what he gets.

Having said that, it is important not to pick favourites and only use the ‘best’ people. Of course critical tasks need to be performed by people who can handle them but it is still important to treat all team members equally. The good project manager remembers to do this when thanking the team for their hard work at major events. Of course we should recognise any outstanding contributions but it’s important to thank everyone for their work.

The Way

The wise project manager does not try to protect the team members from themselves. The light of awareness shines equally on what is good and what is bad. One person is as worthy as the next.

Knowing this the wise project manager does not pretend to be special. He does not gossip about others or waste breath arguing the merits of competing theories. Silence is a great source of strength. I know this for this is the way of the project manager.

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Heaven and earth are ruthless;

They see the ten thousand things as dummies.

The wise are ruthless;

They see the people as dummies.

The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows.

The shape changes but not the form;

The more it moves, the more it yields.

More words count less.

Hold fast to the centre.