Team development
Forming to Adjourning.
Projects consist of teams that develop. Influencing this team development is part of project management and works even better if you look at the needs of those involved.
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Here, it can be helpful to form a team in such a way that the respective needs structures of the individual team members are taken into account as much as possible. Theoretically, you could consciously bring certain "need types" into the project and exclude others. Or create an environment that suits the different needs structures of the team members. For example, a virtual team has a different effect on certain needs than a team that sits together.
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This is where the topic of "motivation" comes into play. If I ensure that everyone in my team is "satisfied" according to their needs and also offer the prospect of future satisfaction of their needs, I generate motivation. Conversely, I can avoid demotivation (or react to it accordingly) if I know which buttons have been pushed and why the corresponding demotivation has set in.
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In this phase, differences become clear and people rub up against each other. Hidden and open conflicts arise. The model can help here in many ways. As a party to the conflict, it can help me to become aware of my own needs ("knowing and understanding my own buttons") and to articulate them - and/or at the same time to understand the needs of the other party to the conflict. If I take on a moderating role as a project manager, i.e. mediate between people, I can help everyone to understand their own needs and talk about them. As a project manager, it is helpful to know my own needs structure in order to ensure that I myself work in a "needs-oriented" way.
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Here, too, I can choose activities that meet the different needs of the people in the team - or, conversely, avoid things that would offend one or the other.
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Knowing the different needs structures of the people in the project team can help to agree on "rules of the game" in the team that are tailored to all the different needs as far as possible. One example here is to discuss the topic of "trust" within the team: Satisfying which needs would generate trust within the team? What would hinder trust? All planning steps in the project (performance/scope, quality, deadlines, resources, costs, communication, risks, organization...) can be carried out according to needs if you know the different needs structures in the team. My own needs as a project manager should not be ignored here either: What "norms" do I need in the project team in order to be able to fulfill my role as project manager without offending or neglecting my own needs?
Conflicts: Establish the ability to engage in dialog.
By their very nature, there are more conflicts in projects than in a functional line organization. At the same time, as a project manager, I don't have time to simply sit out a conflict - I need the appropriate conflict management tools.
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The needs model and the associated knowledge (e.g. differentiating between feelings, needs and things that affect my needs) can help me to deal with conflicts more quickly and with methodical support. As a party to the conflict, it can help me to better understand my own buttons and to express any wishes I may have. If I want to understand the other person, it is helpful to know their needs structure. In both cases, the aim is to identify the buttons that are being pushed by the parties involved in order to talk about them openly and find ideas together on what could be done better.
If I am acting as a moderator or mediator in a conciliatory role, the model can help to give both parties to the conflict the necessary empathy (i.e. to show them that I see and recognize their needs) - and subsequently to get the parties involved "ready for dialogue" again. If the other person is absolutely unable to recognize their own needs, I can also use the model to "guess" my way around. Starting with the three main areas, I can guess "where the shoe pinches" and with the model I have a tool at hand to hit the button more precisely.
In conflicts, an interesting mechanism is that people calm down when their needs are "recognized" ("seen"). There are people who believe that the other person must be "willing to open up" - in order to become capable of dialog again. I disagree with this. In my experience, you can use the needs model to calm someone who is "freaking out" - by actively addressing possible needs (based on the three main areas). In this way, the person in question automatically becomes calm - reveals a little more about themselves and thus gets further and further back into a state of dialog ability.
Motivation and Demotivation.
People strive to satisfy their needs. Of course, this applies first and foremost to particularly pronounced needs.
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If I offer someone the prospect that certain needs will be satisfied as a result of certain behavior, I create the motivation in the person concerned to do just that. Rewards for work performed also have a motivating effect as long as they are aligned with the respective need structure of the person concerned.
On the contrary, projects sometimes suffer from a lack of motivation. This is also where the needs model comes into play. Which of the individual's needs are offended (or "not satisfied") and what would I have to do to change this?
Change Management:
Reducing resistance.
People have a natural resistance to change. At the same time, projects in particular often bring about change.
When it comes to change, the needs model can help to reduce resistance. Resistance can also arise if certain needs are offended by the change. Or, to a lesser extent, they would be less satisfied in future. By applying the needs model or needs-oriented social skills, you can ensure that those affected also feel comfortable in the new, changed situation. On the one hand, this includes reducing resistance (redesigning button-pushing states) and generating motivation (offering the prospect of need-satisfying states).
Self-reflection: Know your own needs.
In order to be able to deal with the needs of other people - or your own - it is helpful to know them precisely.
An online tool allows you to see and analyze the structure and characteristics of your own needs at a glance.