One of the best things about being a Project Manager is the fantastic people that we get to work with. In the construction industry we work with people up and down the full supply chain and with an array of different experience, expertise and ways of thinking. But sometimes this can create challenges. Getting such a variety of people on the same page can be hard to achieve when you factor in different personality types, backgrounds and communication skills.
The benefits of good communication as a central Project Management tool are well documented. Good communication leads to clarity, enhanced collaboration and greater team engagement. If a team communicates well, mistakes are less likely to be made, scope gaps are less likely to occur and a team is more likely to be proactive in risk management. Good communication also generally leads to less conflict and dispute. As a Project Manager, we play a vital role in establishing how a team communicates, and putting in processes to make communication easier amongst the team.
An element of communication that is often overlooked however, is the translation from one communication style to another. What works to communicate with one member of your team might not work with another. An architect, for example, might respond best to images, CGIs and drawings where your engineers respond best to tables and calculations. A cost consultant might prefer the use of excel where your Client prefers presentations. The acoustic consultant might like to be communicated to in writing where your Main Contractor prefers a heads up first via a phone call or a 121 meeting.
As Project Managers, we will also have our own preferences over how we communicate. Those that end up in the Project Management profession also come from an array of backgrounds and previous training or professions. Some of us prefer working with people in person, others prefer online. Some like to use lots of Project Management tools to work through issues where others might favour meetings. Some prefer to be on site, in their muddy boots, others prefer to be office based.
Whatever your preferences are, it is important to remember that good communication is always a two way process between the transmitter and the receiver. If you prefer to send emails, but are working with a Client who never checks their inbox, then that will not be an effective form of communication. If your fire engineer always uses highly technical language that your planning consultant cannot follow, communication is not going to be effective. As the Project Manager, it is your responsibility to make sure the transmitter and receiver are speaking the same language. For effective communication to happen a message has to be received, acknowledged & acted on.
So, as Project Managers, we not only have to be great communicators, but also great translators. We need to be able to identify when a team member is no longer following a conversation and get them back on board. We have to identify when an issue gets too technical for someone else to follow so we can intervene and find a way to help everyone understand. And on the flip side, we have to provide the right forums and appoint people with the right level of expertise so that there is a time and a place for complex issues to be resolved. Sometimes, this can involve translating what one team member is saying, so another team member understands.
So how can you become as ace Project Management translator and keep your team speaking the same language?
- Be upfront with your team. Ask them their preferences. You are unlikely to be able to accommodate them all, but this will give you invaluable insight into how your team operates so you can provide help when it is needed.
- Adjust your tools to suit your team. Make sure that the processes and tools are tailored to your team and your project. If you have a Client with a short attention span consider programming short, punchy and regular meetings. If your cost consultant works best in excel, enable them to use excel templates for their monthly reports. Don't get lazy & just use the template from your last project. Make necessary adjustments.
- Intervene quickly. When you notice that a team member has lost engagement, help them out. Find ways to bring them back into the conversation and encourage them to ask questions about anything they are unclear on.
- Keep the team on track. If you are in a strategic meeting and the team strays into detail, bring the conversation back to the agenda and follow up by creating a more appropriate forum for that conversation to take place. Being clear on the purpose of a meeting, process or tool can help keep a project on track.
- Ask questions. Sometimes, Project Managers can be afraid of asking too many questions. But asking questions is an invaluable tool for keeping people engaged. You may already know the answer. Or you may think that you know the answer. But asking a question doesn’t necessarily have to benefit you – it can be useful to ask a question if it will benefit the team.
The best Project Managers are not only effective communicators, they are also able to adapt their communication style and translate between communication styles to meet the needs of a team. If you can refine your ability to notice when something is lost in translation and take the necessary steps to help a team member out, you will be helping the team, the project and yourself succeed better.