Bertrand Russell once wrote, "The only thing that
will redeem mankind is cooperation." Certainly in the world of project
management, the degree of success is directly linked to achieving cooperation
between team members, managers, departments and outside consultants. And
the key to successful cooperation is ongoing, wide-ranging communication.
In The Little Black Book of Project Management
(AMACOM, 2002), author Michael C. Thomsett explains: "In addition
to the manager-team dynamics, you must also contend with communication
on three additional levels:
- The Assignment. The executive (or committee) that first assigned
the project to you may not agree with your idea of what the project
should achieve; or the same person may have a change of mind about the
outcome, sometimes without letting you know.
- Other Departments. The managers of other departments have their own
priorities and can be expected to have problems with your schedule,
especially if it affects their workload and timing. Two situations are
of special concern to you: when members of other departments are on
your team, and when you need to receive information from another department.
- Outside Resources. Your project could depend on help or information
from companies, consultants, suppliers or agencies that are not part
of your organization or division.
When working with other department managers, Thomsett
recommends applying these basic rules of communication to defuse any potential
problems:
- Visit the other manager before you finalize the schedule. No
matter how restricted you are by an imposed deadline, and no matter
how little say you had in choosing your team, you must be prepared to
accommodate your team members' managers. Ask for a meeting and present
your initial schedule. Ask whether the proposed schedule will cause
any conflict with an employee’s recurring duties in the department.
If there is a scheduling problem, work with each manager to resolve
it.
- Keep in touch while the project is under way. A weekly status
check may be all you need. A three-minute telephone discussion should
be enough to double-check schedules. By working together, you and the
department manager will be able to resolve any conflicts that arise
and so avoid the kinds of breakdowns that lead to serious conflicts,
both work-related and personal.
- Remain as flexible as possible. Stop and think whenever you
find yourself about to say, "You told me this wouldn't be a problem."
Few departments can judge very far in advance the demands that will
be placed on them from above. Successful project managers stay on schedule
and within budget to the extent possible, even when team members from
other departments are pulled suddenly. You may have to shift duties
to someone else or do the work yourself.
- Confront the problems, not the people. In some cases, managers
will seem unreasonable, unyielding, defensive and uncooperative. They
may resent having an employee removed from their jurisdiction to work
on your project, and this can create an array of hostile reactions.
Egos are at play, and no matter how strong a manager is, egos are fragile
things. Concentrate on the problem the reaction creates. Ask the manager
to suggest a solution that satisfies the departmental needs as well
as the project’s needs.
If a project involves working with an outside consultant,
says Thomsett, you will have to contend with the independence of that
adviser as well as with the question of who is running the project. Because
the consultant’s work is temporary, usually short-term and may not fit
within the guidelines or style of the organization, there is potential
for conflict. Thomsett outlines the following steps to ensure a smooth
working relationship with consultants:
- Design your schedule so that the consultant is given a deadline
in advance of your actual deadline. Although this is not always
practical, since the consultant’s participation may depend on competition
of a particular phase of the project, it is a good general guideline.
- Be prepared to complete the work without the consultant. The
consultant may have been retained because management believes an outsider’s
point of view will be superior to that of an insider. If you and your
core team are able to get the work done on schedule with little or no
problem, make sure management knows that the work was completed internally.
- Accept consultant delays as being beyond your control. You
cannot control the consultant’s schedule, nor can you enforce a deadline.
And you cannot always work around the consultant, either. Once you realize
a project will be delayed due to a consultant, inform management at
once.
Thomsett concludes: "In all phases of project management,
the degree to which you are able to communicate your priorities determines
the success of your efforts. Identifying problems well in advance, expressing
your understanding of someone else’s priorities and confronting issues
rather than people are all attributes of effective communicators and successful
project managers."
Click
here for a complete listing of AMACOM’s books on Project
Management.
If you would like to learn more about project management
and/or effective communication, consider these AMA seminars:
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