Negligence is conduct that falls below the standard of behaviour for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm.  From a risk management perspective if one neglects to do something, and allows that something to happen, then risks have been ignored and there has been negligence.

So how is negligence related to teambuilding?  Tuckman’s “forming, storming, norming, and performing” is a mantra we have all heard.   We are all taught that teams are meant to be structured and the individuals who make up the team should complement each other.   We also know, or should know, that we cannot expect a team to instantly know what to do, how to do it and when to do it but how often is ‘team formation’ on the risk register?   And how often are definitive or effective risk mitigation measures put in place?

If we assume (and we do) that everybody will do their job without proactive management intervention then the phenomenon of ‘project blame’ will inevitably raise its ugly, but all to common head.  This blame ensues either covertly or overtly when everybody blames somebody because nobody did what anybody could have done.  When the storm happens the ensuing conflict and possible chaos and confusion needs to be weathered so as to avoid a shipwreck.

Lack of action over ‘people problems’ creates the real risk of neglecting to nurture the team(s) and perhaps even pruning ‘dead wood’ and allowing the poor performer to ‘move-on’.  But, just as pruning dead wood is a continuing activity of a dedicated gardener, storms within a project are not a single event.  As a project moves from phase to phase and people or roles change the risk profile associated with the team also changes.  The risks arising from people adapting to the changing nature of a project should not be underestimated.

The all too foreseeable storms that occur on projects can start for many reasons but, inevitably, people cause them but people must also solve them, and yet others get caught up in them and furnace them.  Dealing with people is perhaps the most difficult, and potentially the most sensitive part of project management.  Confronting the issues, making them visible and correcting them must be carried out swiftly and timeously rather than put off till tomorrow; procrastinating, prevaricating and pontificating never solved anything.

If team/people problems are pushed aside or buried then the problems can emerge later in a much larger guise and we then spend our valuable time managing crises; but could the crisis have been averted?  Solving crises is paid for at the expense of other work and perhaps, even worse, offset against the morale of the team.  It is at this time that the project needs get-up-and-go people but, being typically astute, they may have already got-up-and-went.

In law, if there is negligence, all parties will suffer some form of damage be it physical or monetary.  Similarly if a project team and its associated risks are neglected then the resulting negligence may not only damage the project but also the contributing organisations and individuals alike

Bio:

MBA, MSc DIC, BSc; Chartered Engineer, Chartered Geologist, PMP

Over thirty years’ experience on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro systems, airports, roads, marine works and reclamation, hydropower, tunnels and underground excavations.

Project management; design & construction management; and contract administrative in all project phases from feasibility, planning & design, procurement, implementation, execution and completion on Engineer’s Design and Design & Build schemes.