How do you ensure the right talent for transformative initiatives without overwhelming teams?

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, managing talent for transformative initiatives has become increasingly complex. With 93% of top-performing companies now emphasizing personalized approaches to employee development organizations face the critical challenge of balancing ambitious project goals with sustainable team workloads.

To address this pressing concern, we turn to Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, a globally recognized authority in project management and strategy implementation. As the author of the “Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook” and recipient of the prestigious Thinkers50 “Ideas into Practice” award, Nieto-Rodriguez brings invaluable insights from his experience directing major transformational initiatives at organizations like GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines and BNP Paribas Fortis.

Known as “the godfather of modern project management“, Nieto-Rodriguez shares his expert perspective on building and sustaining high-performing teams while maintaining employee well-being and engagement during transformative initiatives.

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, global champion of project management and creator of the “Project Economy” concept, explains that ensuring the right talent for transformative initiatives requires focusing on team building before diving into transformation work.

Team Building vs. Group Assembly

The key distinction Nieto-Rodriguez emphasizes is between true teams and mere groups of people. Most transformation projects fail because they rely on part-time participants who are simply “a group of people” rather than a cohesive team. Drawing from his experience as Director of Program Management at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines and former Chairman of the Project Management Institute, he advocates for dedicated team-building sessions before starting any transformation work

Strategic Volunteer Engagement

A crucial strategy Nieto-Rodriguez recommends is leveraging volunteers who connect with the project’s purpose. “People who volunteer are a hundred%, even 200% committed,” he notes, emphasizing that when individuals resonate with a transformation’s purpose, they become naturally engaged and supportive through both successes and challenges. This approach has proven successful across his extensive portfolio of transformational initiatives at organizations like BNP Paribas Fortis and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The effectiveness of this method lies in its focus on emotional connection and purpose-driven engagement rather than traditional assignment-based team formation. By prioritizing team cohesion and voluntary participation, organizations can build high-performing teams that drive successful transformations without overwhelming their members.