I’ll bet not.  Yesterday, I voted in my district for 17 candidates and 2 constitutional amendments.  Out of 19 decision points or positions, I did not get everything that I wanted.  The results were not 100% aligned with my requests.  Not too shocking, is it?

The same is true with our project teams.  We don’t always get who or what we want.  You may negotiate passionately with other PMs or department managers, but when the dust settles, you don’t get all the team members you hoped for in your “perfect plans”.  Welcome to reality!

You look across the room at your newly assembled team, and you may be thinking… “I like her… and her… and him.  But not that guy.”    Maybe you have a cloudy history with that guy…he embarrassed you in front of the client.  Or, he tried to make you look bad in front of your boss.  Or, he’s got no respect for you.  Whatever.  Now, he is a member of the team.

For the sake of the project, show leadership.  Invest in the relationship. Mend any broken parts.  Spend time with the guy one on one.  Figure out what motivates him and look for common ground.  Build a spirit of teamwork.  Your credibility with the rest of the team will shoot up as they observe your efforts to make things right.

We don’t always get the people we want on our project teams.  But, we choose how we respond to those situations.  Lead strong!