Project managers lead teams. While some can choose their team members, others can’t. Those leading teams that are not self-selected are known as imposed team leaders. The imposed project team structure is a common model adopted by many organizations, so it is important to be familiar with this concept.

The fundamental idea is that the members of the team are either chosen by someone or a committee for the manager. That is why the term “tax” is used for this type of equipment. The composition of the team is imposed on the manager and he has no say in determining who to accept or reject.

The project management model adopted by the organization affects the structure of the team. Typically, in a highly projected organization, the project manager has more say in who should be on the team roster. At the other end of the organizational structures, is the functional organization; the project manager is given less or no say in the selection process. The project manager can guess how her team would be made up by looking at the organization’s project management model.

Leading an imposed team is quite daunting for the new manager because they will be leading people they have not worked with before. He may not even know who they are or what they’re capable of, but on a positive note, he can learn a lot from this refreshing and challenging experience. In this type of situation, the manager learns to quickly assess the ability and personality of team members so that he can assign work tasks that play to the members’ benefit. He wouldn’t be able to hone such a skill if he’s too familiar with his team members. He also needs to quickly form working partnerships between members to create project synergies. Such experience can be found primarily when managing an imposed team. Having such experience under your belt helps you quickly bolster your management skills, which will come in handy in higher appointments.

Working with imposed equipment is challenging due to the many unknowns. There are many kinds of issues you can run into when working with imposed equipment, and these issues can be serious enough to derail or delay a project. The most common problem many project managers encounter is conflicting personalities among team members. When we work on projects, the people issue is always the most difficult to solve and that is why it causes most of the headaches.

Another common problem is the selection of team members. Project members are often selected by divisional or functional managers. Instead of selecting members for their ability and competence, divisional or functional managers often select whoever is available. No matter who you end up with, you have to work with whoever is available and try to get the best out of them.

I like working with imposed teams because it gives me the opportunity to meet more people, regardless of their ability. I like to learn about new things and meeting new people gives me the opportunity to do so. Sometimes an imposed team member may not be pleasant to work with, but you can learn their working methods. The observation might surprise you because you might be using an effective method that you never thought of.

Working with an imposed team is a challenge for any project manager. There are hurdles to overcome, but you can also learn a thing or two from managing such teams.