The Most Common Communication Mistakes Project Managers Make
The Most Common Communication Mistakes Project Managers Make
By Susanne Madsen
Don’t get me wrong! A lot of project managers are doing a fantastic job of organizing and delivering their projects and keeping their clients happy. But it’s probably still true, that the majority of PMs are stronger with the harder skills of creating plans and reports than with the softer skills of communicating and motivating people. The below mistakes are the ones I the most often see project managers make when it comes to the softer communication skills.
- Speaking more than you listen
A big part of a project managers’ job is concerned with assigning work, resolving issues, coordinating activities and assessing progress. The pressure is on and they are busy getting everything done. In this process they often give orders and tell people what to do. Very few take the time to really connect with the individual; ask for input, listen, and check how their message has been understood. You shouldn’t just tell people what to do as that doesn’t empower or motivate anyone. Just think about the times when you have been on the receiving end of that. Instead, take the time to ask people how they are, what they make of the message you just gave them, what they worry about and how they feel the team could work smarter. Really listen to what they say. It will provide you lots of valuable information and strengthen the trust between you.
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Communicating with the client in writing instead of face-to-face
Again and again I see project managers emailing their clients instead of speaking to them in person. Written communication is great for short messages without complexity, but should not be used simply because it’s more convenient or saves you having a difficult conversation. Many misunderstandings and disagreements are born because we don’t take the time to identify common ground with our clients and prepare them for what is coming.
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Face-to-face communication is a must in situations where:
- You want to build trust and make sure you’re on the same page
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The stakes are high, for instance regarding an issue or a significant risk
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You sense disagreement or conflict
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You want to ask for advice or feedback
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You want to win your client’s support for an important matter
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You want to understand your client’s point of view and how to best communicate with them
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Saying ‘yes’ when you really mean ‘no’
Many people feel pressurized to saying ‘yes’ when put on the spot and asked directly if they can deliver something– even if they haven’t had the time to properly assess what they’re saying yes to. This relates to anything from small promises of “I will send it to you straight away” to “yes, I’ll see if we can incorporate that extra feature into the next iteration!” Overpromising is a classic and very serious mistake which doesn’t serve anyone. The problem surfaces later when you realize that you can’t keep your promise and that it’s starting to affect your reputation. Instead, take time out by saying “Can I get back to you on that?” You can also offer alternatives by saying: “I can’t do A, but I can do B”.
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Relying too heavily on the weekly status meeting
For many project managers the weekly status meeting is the primary way of communicating with the team. In this meeting the project manager enquires about progress and receives an update from each team member so that they can gauge how far the project has progressed. This type of status meeting is great for the project manager, but not necessarily for the team member who may feel it’s a waste of time. Make the status meeting short and focused on progress since last meeting and on blockages which you can help resolve. To engage each team member however, it’s essential that you set up one-2-one meetings where it’s all about them and their needs; not about what you need. Ask them what they most enjoy doing, what type of support they need from you and how you can help them work more effectively.
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Providing too much and too detailed information
It is often assumed that the more detail we provide our bosses and stakeholders the better. But the truth is that we need to give them just the right amount of information and no more. When you send out a weekly status report or conduct a steering committee meeting, don’t overload the recipient with unnecessary detail. Highlight the good progress you have made, summarize risks and issues and how you are addressing them, and provide an update on the budget. Make it very clear if you need their input and decision on anything or if you’re merely providing an update. Detailed information should only be provided where they are in need of making a decision on something. Keep it simple and don’t use jargon. Your aim is to engage your audience and for this you need to communicate at their level of understanding. To download a free copy of a steering committee presentation, request access to the resources page here.
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Failing to ask for feedback
It is human nature to avoid that which we feel is unpleasant – and that includes asking for feedback. You may fear that people will tell you something negative and therefore refrain from asking in the first place. But by not asking you’re doing yourself a big disfavor. Firstly you’re much better off knowing what people think about you and the project than not knowing; when you know you can do something about it and use the feedback to your advantage. In addition, you are likely to receive feedback about something which you’re doing really well and which you were not aware of. It will lift your spirits and enable you to build on your strengths. Why not try it? Ask people you respect; a) what you should stop doing b) what you should start doing and c) what you should continue to do. Nice and simple!
What are your own experiences? Which other communication mistakes do you see PMs make? I’d love to hear your comments.
Susanne Madsen is a project & program manager, mentor & coach, and author of The Project Management Coaching Workbook. She has over 15 years experience in managing and rolling out large change programs. You can read more from Susanne on her blog.
Suzanne, great post! I certainly was nodding my head and am guilty of a number of those. Thanks for keeping me honest.
Cesar Abeid
Host/Producer
Project Management for the Masses Podcasr
http://pmforthemasses.com
Very pertinent points! Thanks for articulating them.
Some of the more complex projects also involve external vendors & internal support organizations, who aren’t necessarily part of the ‘team’. I would add that PMs need to be cognizant of how they communicate with these folks as well. In a nutshell, rubbing these folks the wrong way could very easily leave the PM facing avoidable issues in current & future projects needing such support.
Vishak
I have found many PMs who act like bosses by making the team member feel inferior whereby creating discomfort in the team and the whole trouble starts brewing up.
I think, a PM should bring every member of the team in a comfort zone by giving a free hand with a defined boundary,monitor closely and then see the magic working.
Regards.
My Client always used to quote ‘Communication is the Key for our Success’. Points listed here and which I did not follow are brutal truth which could have helped better if followed.
Thank you for enlisting.
Susanne, I totally agree with you. Appreciate you for taking your time posting valuable points.
Principle of 4 Cs: A PM should be 4 C’d (Communicative, Collaborative, Committed and Creative – 4Cs) that leads to Excellence.
4Cs = Excellence (in words, 4Cs leads to excellence)
When you are Communicative….You are Excellent!
Communication is the artery of any project and information is the blood that should flow seamlessly. The PM has to be Communicative to all levels of the organization that are involved and could affect the project. It is not just to be communicative but communicate effectively with clarity the right information at the right time to all the stakeholders of a project.
Collaborative approach is a joint intellectual effort of many minds. The PM should lead any activity in a project and should take a collaborative approach; by adopting this approach, i.e. PM is involving the client in project activities from beginning, indirectly getting a buy-in, it becomes easier for the client to take decisions in any activity and overall it saves time in the Project. For instance, when the PM is working on a business plan or project plan, it should be a collaborative approach which helps when it comes to reviewing and approving these plans. You communicate in collaborative approach.
Committed – A Promise. This can make or break lots of decisions and has tremendous impact on the project, relationship and develop the trust with the PM and various other consequences. A PM once committed to a deliverable or a milestone can never go back. By sticking to a Commitment builds
relationship and trust. Keep-up the commitment let it be small or big.
Collaborative approach will help keep-up the commitment.
Creativity – These are the days where there is place for creative and new ideas, gone are those days for traditional ways of dealing things. Customers are quenched with creative meaningful ideas that help them to meet the business or competitive market needs. The PM should be in the forefront with creativity and dealing with client’s problems or requirements. Also, should be creative in leading the team. Problems do creep in a project, but PM should be creative with array of new ideas to deal with them.
Thanks, it is really a very good post.
Sometimes, it is good to repeat communication to your client/stakeholders what you understood from a discussion to take sign off from them.
At some extent, I agree that Face to face communication is better & fast, but more often it has been seen that people tend to forget these kind of discussions and sending them written communication is good in that case.
Also, better identification of stakeholders and choosing communication medium for each kind of communication as well as stakeholders is an excellent idea.
Nice blog.
I strongly believe, Project manager’s role is very critical in terms of decision making and success/failure of the project. Project should have Proactive approach rather than reactive approach.
In my project, earlier, I used to send status report through email. based on the feedback, now I start status report on weekly basis discussion face to face. Trust me ,It helped me a lot and trust with client.