Collective Wisdom from the Experts 143
Be open, honest, and direct with team members. Provide feedback on a regular
basis, not just at review time. Focus your feedback on the behavior, not the
person. Again, management literature abounds. Study.
When you have a performance issue with a team member, apply the CRAM
model: Constraints, Resources, Aptitude, and Motivation. Project managers
frequently diagnose poor performance as a motivation problem. The CRAM
model suggests that motivation is the last issue to consider. A team member
may be experiencing constraints in his life that limit his effectiveness. Examples
include getting divorced or married, having kids, fighting addiction issues, etc.
Team members may not have the resources necessary to contribute at their
highest level. Examples include no quality assurance (QA) test environment,
or ancient hardware. Perhaps budget constraints limit the ability to estab-
lish testing environments or buy licenses for necessary software. Perhaps the
domain expertise (business analyst, customer, end-user) is not accessible.
Your team member may not be cut out for the role he/she fills. He may not have the
programming aptitude necessary for this project. If so, find another project role,
if possible. Alternatively, find another team where he can leverage his strengths.
Motivation is the last lever to jiggle when a team member has performance
issues. It should only be considered once the constraints, resources, and apti-
tude problems have been addressed.
Be a leader and connect with the individual human beings who comprise your
team. The results may surprise you.