We do it all the time with colleagues, our spouse, friends, our children or the person behind the counter in the store; communicates. As a project manager, one of my main tasks is to communicate - receive, understand, filter and share information.
A survey from the Project Management Institute shows that communication is important. The survey reveals that one in five projects fail due to poor communication. And that can happen even if a star team of competent people has been assembled in the project.
The first thing we have to start with is defining what communication is. "Communication is conveying and sharing ideas and information, including by means of language." We communicate actively when we write to each other, have meetings or talk on the phone.
The opposite of good communication is misunderstandings or different perceptions of what was said, done or what the goal is.
We've all probably been there. Felt a frustration about that others do not get the point, contribute as they should or, in the worst case, work against us. Do we underestimate the importance of good communication?
Three tips for you as a project manager:
The project did not go smoothly in all phases, but was labeled as a successful project in the final phase.
What was the reason for that? There were of course many reasons why the project was a success. The right technical expertise, domain knowledge and good financial management are just some of the things worth highlighting.
When I look back on the project, I experienced that there was a high degree of team spirit, room to make mistakes, trust and a dialogue between the team members that was founded on a common respect for who we are and the work we did.
We also had several social events for the team with good food and drink where we got to know each other outside of work. This is defined in the technical language as psychological safety. Psychological safety exists in a team or workplace when there is room to raise concerns and make mistakes without fear of negative consequences. To create psychological security, the first step is to ensure good communication.
A well-functioning team is characterized by the way they communicate. At the same time, they score high on trust. I believe that these two things are closely related. Trust is created by spaciousness and spaciousness gives security. An atmosphere to dry, explore and, perhaps most importantly, make mistakes. Without this foundation, it is no point to have agreed on targets, clear roadmaps and support tools for better communication flow. This is important, but comes second.
Some of my sources for considerations and tips:
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