Building trust in professional/technical services contract management in Minnesot

Transportation agencies utilize professional/technical (P/T) services contracts to aid project delivery. Civil engineering education backgrounds are typical of P/T contract project managers. Few engineering curriculums teach people management skills. Increased understandings of influences of culture and individual personalities on behavior in work group settings as well as approaches for managing these effects will benefit this work environment. Project managers need to apply role definition, power, motivation, conflict management, and leadership techniques to maximize group performance. Work groups must transition from past history and through the forming and storming stages of group development. Group performance is maximized when groups reach the norming and performing stages of development. In Minnesota's current P/T contract environment, many project managers focus on task completion. This research intertwines Minnesota's three phases of a contract -- kickoff, task completion, and closeout -- with suggested leadership and trust-building tactics.;Keywords: engineering, project manager, trust, leadership, group stages.