Three potential risks
that could happen when introducing new team members, with different profiles,
late into a project are

a)Lack of
trust

Unless the new team
member has a good reputation from pervious projects, or exhibits an willingness
to work in collaborative manner, there will a natural reluctance by the team to
show openness or share knowledge. Trust, as Benson-Armor and Hsieh (1997), and
Costa (2003) highlight, is essential for successful project teams. New members
have to earn the respect of their colleagues and being collaborative will earn
trust and recognition, however this takes time, and time is limited, and
valuable at the end of project. Thus late-comers often miss the five stages of
team development as described by Sanghera (2010 p 270), which makes them feel
fully integrated into the team.

b)Team
Conflict

Different personality
profiles can lead to project disruption and personal conflict. Existing team
members often resent having to teach the new comer, the project’s history and
why things are being done a certain way. The new comer can become frustrated,
working on tasks which require rectification, or have been cancelled or already
completed, if limited guidance or assistance is given. On the other hand, other
team members can become exasperated waiting the new comer, who is struggling
playing catch up, to complete tasks. Personalities and emotions play a vital
role in how a new comer is accepted: positive emotions will often receive a
positive feedback, while negative emotions will be met with confrontation and
résistance. Therefore social skills as described byMorgeson,
Reider and Campion,(2005)
as well as anunderstanding of the
surrounding enterprise environmental factors (Sanghera 2010) and politics (Pinto
2011) are important challenges for any newcomer to integrate
quickly.

c)Poor
communication

New team members can
be inadvertently, or deliberately, left out of the communication loop. Informal
communication within a team is just as important as formal communication as
stressed by Hindle (2008) and Pinto & Pinto (2010). Informal communication
can lead to better understanding of issues as well as the building of
comradeship and friendship. It takes time for new members to feel comfortable
enough to open up to others, while existing members can be reluctant to accept
late comers into their elite group, so managers can play an important role
breaking down this barrier by bring the new comers into casual conversions with
other team members. Laurie (2003) in her article on why projects fail,
indentified outside staff coming into existing projects, with limited or no pass
project history knowledge, as a problem.

Katzenenbach and
Smith (1992), (cited by Benson-Armor and Hsieh, 1997, p 22), claim that that
four fundamental points must be present to ensure successful teams, a)
complementary skills within the team, b) well defined individual & team
goals and responsibilities, c) a common approach or set rules on how to work,
and d) a common team purpose. Team members must be willing to interact
effectively with each other: a brilliant individual can be disruptive, if he/she
cannot coincide with team mates in an effective manner, “Lone rangers are out and teams are in.”
(Bubshait
and Farooq, 1999, p36). Yang, Huang and Wu
(2011), indicate that sound communication with strong collaboration creates
respect, trust, and friendship, which makes “greater team cohesiveness” (p 265),
which in turns underpins project performance and stakeholders’ satisfaction (p
265-266). Maintaining a good team spirit is a challenge, every project manager
must conquer on each project he/she undertakes. People working together, do not
make effect teams by being lumped together, teams must be formed, shaped and
guided: the correct selection of right mix of professional and personal
qualities is essential(Stevens
and Campion 1994).

Bibliography

1.Benson-Armer,R.,
Hsieh,T.Y.,(1997) “Teamwork across time and space’McKinsey
Quarterly
4, pp 18-27. [Online] Scholar
Goggle, Available at: http://www.jsu.edu/depart/ccba/featherstone/420/timeandspace.pdf(Accessed 28 March 2013)

2.Bubshait,
A., & Farooq, G. (1999). Team building and project success. Cost
engineering, 41(7), pp 34-38.[Online] Schoolar
Google Available at :- http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/CEM/bushait/Research/Team-building-project-success.pdf(Accessed on 14 Oct
2012)

3.Costa,A.C., (2003)
“Work team trust and effectiveness”, Personnel Review, 32( 5), pp.605 –
622,University of Liverpool [Online]
Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0048-3486&volume=32&issue=5&articleid=879370&show=html&PHPSESSID=93re8e8pquve8mf6kck8upuq16
(Accessed 29 March 2013)

4.Hindle, T. (2008) Guide to management ideas and gurus,
University of Liverpool [Online]. Available from:http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/ohecampus/search/ebooks.htm (Accessed: 16 December 2009).

5.Laurie, J. (2003) Why
projects fail: a university accounting system, JISC infoNet [Online]. Available
from:
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/infokit-related-files/project-failure-university-accounting-system
(Accessed: 7 December 2009).

6.Morgeson,F.P.,
Reider, M. H., Campion, M. A
(2005). ‘Selecting Individuals in Team Settings: The Importance of Social
Skills, Personality Characteristics, and Teamwork Knowledge’. Personnel
Psychology, 58(3), 583-611. [Online], Scholar
Goggle, Available at: https://www.msu.edu/~morgeson/morgeson_reider_campion_2005.pdf(Accessed 28 March 2013)

7.Pinto,J.K.,(2011) ‘Understanding the role of politics in
successful project management’
International Journal of Project Management, 18 (2), pp. 85–91 University of
Liverpool [Online] ScienceDirect Available at :-http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0263786398000738?#
(Accessed on 29 March 2013)

8.Pinto,
M. B., & Pinto, J. K. (1990). Project team communication and
cross-functional cooperation in new program development. Journal of Product
Innovation Management, 7(3), 200-212. [Online], Scholar
Goggle, Available at: http://193.146.160.29/gtb/sod/usu/$UBUG/repositorio/10291771_Pinto.pdf(Accessed 28 March 2013)

9.Sanghera, P. (2010),
PMP in Depth: Project Management Professional Study guide for the PMP Exam 2nd
Ed.Boston MA : Course
Technology

10.Stevens,M.J.,
Campion,M.A., (1994). ‘The Knowledge, Skill, and Ability Requirements for
Teamwork: Implications for Human Resource Management’. Journal of
Management, 20(2), 503-530. [Online], Scholar
Goggle, Available at: http://www.cin.ufpe.br/~ssj/Group%20Composition/Stevens-The_Knowledge,_Skill_and_Ability_Requirements_for_Teamwork_Implications_for_Human_Resource_Management-1994.pdf(Accessed 28 March 2013)

11.Yang, L.R., Huang,
C.H., Wu, K.S., (2011) ‘The Association Among Project Manager’s Leadership
Style, Teamwork and Project Success.’ International Journal of Project
Management, 29 (3), pp. 258–267 University of Liverpool [Online]
ScienceDirect Available at :-http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S02637863100005666(Accessed on 9 Oct
2012)