Communications Skills for Project Managers (Michael Campbell)
The success of any project, no matter how brilliantly it is conceived, is dependent on people and their expectations and on change and its impact within an organization. Planning for all of the communications tasks throughout the life of the project and establishing a project structure are essential. Michael Campbell recommends identifying key individuals for critical roles in the project. He suggests an executive sponsor, someone from the corporate leadership who has authority for responsibility and accountability for the success of a project. He also recommends the additional role of project champion, someone who is responsible for ensuring that the business value of the project is realized and who has responsibility for communicating with the organization.
Finally, the working committee will be responsible for delivering the business benefits of the project and functions as the eyes, ears, and voice for keeping people informed about the work the project is undertaking that involves their constituency.
Finally, the working committee will be responsible for delivering the business benefits of the project and functions as the eyes, ears, and voice for keeping people informed about the work the project is undertaking that involves their constituency.
Linking Projects and Strategy
Every business must do two things simultaneously to succeed: 1) Run the business every day to meet targets and goals and 2) change the business so that it can grow and survive into the future. Balancing these two demands is why projects are difficult to manage. One of the first communication challenges for the projectmanager is communicating how the project will make the company better when it is completed. The dynamics of communication become particularly difficult when companies are trying to do "change the business" projectswith the same staff that must also do their day jobs and fit the project work around those day jobs.
Any projects that managers undertake must make sense in terms of an overall goal that benefits people in some way. Another way to look at this is to make sure the project goals specify how completing the project will make things better than they would be without the project. Feasibility studies are a common method for establishing and defining project goals before the management team commits to a project. The points that should be clearly defined are
1) the need for the project;
2) its scope;
3) the time needed to complete the project; and
4) a rough estimate of the timeline, resource requirements, and costs.
At the conclusion of the study, managers should be able to clearly describe the outcomes and benefits to stakeholders and employees.
Therefore, communicating specific goals and details is essential. Every project has three primary goals:
1) to create something,
2) to complete it within a specific budgetary framework, and
3) to finish it within a specific agreed-upon schedule.
Beyond these three primary goals are other goals that must be specified and which actually define the project. For example, it is not enough to have the goal of building a mid-priced sports car. A more appropriate set of goals would be to build a mid-priced, convertible sports car that will use both gas and electric power, be of a quality comparable to the Volvo C70, and sell for ten percent less than all comparable cars. Project managers should be certain that goals are well-defined and that corporate management understands and supports them.
Any projects that managers undertake must make sense in terms of an overall goal that benefits people in some way. Another way to look at this is to make sure the project goals specify how completing the project will make things better than they would be without the project. Feasibility studies are a common method for establishing and defining project goals before the management team commits to a project. The points that should be clearly defined are
1) the need for the project;
2) its scope;
3) the time needed to complete the project; and
4) a rough estimate of the timeline, resource requirements, and costs.
At the conclusion of the study, managers should be able to clearly describe the outcomes and benefits to stakeholders and employees.
Therefore, communicating specific goals and details is essential. Every project has three primary goals:
1) to create something,
2) to complete it within a specific budgetary framework, and
3) to finish it within a specific agreed-upon schedule.
Beyond these three primary goals are other goals that must be specified and which actually define the project. For example, it is not enough to have the goal of building a mid-priced sports car. A more appropriate set of goals would be to build a mid-priced, convertible sports car that will use both gas and electric power, be of a quality comparable to the Volvo C70, and sell for ten percent less than all comparable cars. Project managers should be certain that goals are well-defined and that corporate management understands and supports them.
Preparing the Leadership
Corporate management leadership and support are critical to success. Project managers must communicate to the leadership team that at certain times during the project, they will be calling upon them to participate actively, to deliver particular messages, or to intervene when difficulties arise. For example, if a project manager needs a leader to give an important message to the organization about expecting commitment from people for the project, she should be willing to do that. There will always be times when messages must come from the leadership team to have the impact and credibility required to achieve the desired support.
Therefore, the project manager must develop a detailed communications plan that highlights to the leaders when they will be called on to send certain messages and that they are key people involved in the communication planning. If the project manager is a strong communicator, he may be required to craft the message, or at least provide a draft that executives can deliver.
Campbell acknowledges that it is often difficult to lead teams through organizational changes. He has determined that one of the best ways to lead these project changes is to identify key individuals for critical roles in theproject. He suggests an executive sponsor who has the ultimate authority for responsibility and accountability for the success of a project, as well as responsibility for communicating with executive leadership. Because it is often difficult to keep a sponsor engaged throughout a long project, Campbell recommends the additional role of project champion, someone who is responsible for ensuring the business value of the project is realized within the organization and who has responsibility for communicating with the organization. One of the key roles for the sponsor and the champion is communication. While the actual communication may be drafted by theproject manager, it is essential that it be delivered by either the sponsor or the champion.
Finally, there should be a working committee, people who will be responsible for delivering the business benefits of the project. It is important to include people from all of the departments or groups that will be affected by the changes the project will bring when it is complete. The members of the working committee will be the eyes, ears, and voice for keeping people informed about what the project is doing that involves their constituency. Any feedback the working committee obtains on their constituency's thoughts and concerns are then brought back to the project team for discussion before a decision is made. The working committee spreads news about what is going on in the project. After decisions are made, the committee members are in a position to defend a decision if any constituency objects to a decision.
Finally, there should be a working committee, people who will be responsible for delivering the business benefits of the project. It is important to include people from all of the departments or groups that will be affected by the changes the project will bring when it is complete. The members of the working committee will be the eyes, ears, and voice for keeping people informed about what the project is doing that involves their constituency. Any feedback the working committee obtains on their constituency's thoughts and concerns are then brought back to the project team for discussion before a decision is made. The working committee spreads news about what is going on in the project. After decisions are made, the committee members are in a position to defend a decision if any constituency objects to a decision.
Writing the Project Charter and Communication with the Team
To ensure a consensus at the beginning of a project, the project manager should create a project charter, which contains the key discussion points between the project manager and the stakeholders. A charter is the formal document that authorizes the project to move forward and the company to spend time and money on it. The charter provides a description of the work and should be written in language that everyone involved can understand.
Input into the charter should include all of these important pieces of information:
Input into the charter should include all of these important pieces of information:
- Contract
- Statement of the business problem
- Primary goals and objectives
- Project scope
- Assumptions and constraints determined by the project manager
- Benefits and risks
- Project schedule and budget
All project managers must be aware that there is a "sale" to be made to the various stakeholders affected by the results of the initiative. Campbell likes to identify these stakeholders as "buyers." The sale is not finished simply because a project charter has been signed or agreed to. He further identifies three types of buyers: 1) economic, 2) technical, and 3) user buyers. Economic buyers are those people who are providing the funds for the project and who expect to see the business benefits. Technical buyers are those who must be convinced that the project solution will solve the technical problem, and the user buyers are those who will actually use the deliverables as part of their day-to-day work.
All project managers use teams of people to assist in completing the project. However, they often focus on the technical side of theproject and do not engage the business in the development of the team. When project managers are establishing communications inside the project team, they will need to help their team members understand that they have two parallel tracks progressing simultaneously. One track is keeping people in the company, the stakeholders, informed about what is happening and when. The second track is providing theproject team with information that allows them to stay in touch with the stakeholders, particularly the user buyers. The major idea is to make certain that the project team is providing the same information to the company's employees as the project manager.
All project managers use teams of people to assist in completing the project. However, they often focus on the technical side of theproject and do not engage the business in the development of the team. When project managers are establishing communications inside the project team, they will need to help their team members understand that they have two parallel tracks progressing simultaneously. One track is keeping people in the company, the stakeholders, informed about what is happening and when. The second track is providing theproject team with information that allows them to stay in touch with the stakeholders, particularly the user buyers. The major idea is to make certain that the project team is providing the same information to the company's employees as the project manager.
Developing an Operations Integration Plan
There is a basic truth that all project managers must come to grips with if their projects are to be a business success: people are very reluctant to change. Therefore, when a project's deliverables are introduced to the day-to-day operations staff, project managers will need to overcome their instinct to continue with the old behavior, and communications are critical to success in this regard.
Some programs create big changes, while others are smaller in scope. The one thing they all have in common is the need to integrate the finished product into the operations of the business. However, many project managers do not recognize that with transformation comes resistance. Five conditions for ensuring the successful incorporation of the finished product are:
Project managers should recognize that they will, most likely, find the greatest resistance to the changes the project will deliver within the ranks of middle managers. Having them buy into the project's success is critical. One of the key tasks that Campbell identifies is that of conducting an assessment of the management team, particularly the middle management ranks affected, and attempt to identify their attitudes. This will help a project manager focus his attention and communications in the right places.
Project managers must take as much care in planning for the transitions as they do in building the work breakdown structure, the schedule, and the budget. If they do, they will find themselves with users at the end who are ready, willing, and able to use the project deliverables.
Some programs create big changes, while others are smaller in scope. The one thing they all have in common is the need to integrate the finished product into the operations of the business. However, many project managers do not recognize that with transformation comes resistance. Five conditions for ensuring the successful incorporation of the finished product are:
- Case for Change
- Understanding of the business process changes once the project is delivered and the issues addressed
- Available support from the project team to assist operations in using the project deliverables
- Preparation the project team will deliver to make sure everyone is prepared for the project deliverables
- Timetable for when various changes will happen so that no one will be surprised.
Project managers should recognize that they will, most likely, find the greatest resistance to the changes the project will deliver within the ranks of middle managers. Having them buy into the project's success is critical. One of the key tasks that Campbell identifies is that of conducting an assessment of the management team, particularly the middle management ranks affected, and attempt to identify their attitudes. This will help a project manager focus his attention and communications in the right places.
Project managers must take as much care in planning for the transitions as they do in building the work breakdown structure, the schedule, and the budget. If they do, they will find themselves with users at the end who are ready, willing, and able to use the project deliverables.
Developing the Communications for the Project
Understanding comes from perception. Each time project managers communicate with people, the project team, stakeholders, or anyone else, they must keep the perspective of those audiences in mind. Before any communicating, it is always necessary to analyze the audience(s). Building a communications plan is critical to the success of any project. It is made up of several components:
Some stakeholders will have more interest in a project than others. For example, in the case of a project to develop a new customer information database, sales and marketing management will be much more intimately involved than manufacturing, but all of them ultimately have an interest in the project's success. The purpose of conducting a stakeholder analysis is to determine how stakeholder groups will be concerned. All of the various groups have some unique interests that the project manager will need to reflect upon when developing the communications plan.
Different groups need different types of information, whether they are in sales, marketing, accounting, manufacturing, etc. Project managers, therefore, must contemplate carefully how they will deliver information to each stakeholder group; they must determine which media vehicle or channel they will use such as town hall meetings, presentations, staff meetings, email, etc. They must also take into consideration the right person to deliver the message, which requires thinking through the power base within an organization. Typically, the most persuasive power base is the one with the most expertise in a particular area. The right timing for the message is also important. If information is provided too early, people may ask questions that project managers cannot yet answer; however, if information is delayed too long, it may appear that the project is moving along and people may feel that decisions are being made without their input.
Often, industries, or companies within an industry, will have a unique language. Therefore, it is important that project managers are certain that any contractors or consultants working on the project know the specific terms and jargon used within the company. As in any communication plan, there needs to be a feedback loop to assess how the information is being received. Different interpretations of information can lead people to different conclusions. Making sure that everyone understands common definitions is one way to prevent misunderstandings. As project managers build their communication plan, they will also need to think about barriers, both macro barriers (the large, more obvious barriers that prevent effective communication) as well as potential micro barriers (the more subtle, less obvious barriers).
- Stakeholder analysis
- Sensitivity analysis
- Information needs
- Media requirements
- Delivery personnel and power bases
- Timing requirements
- Common definitions
- Feedback loops
- Macro and micro barriers
- Jargon and acronyms
Some stakeholders will have more interest in a project than others. For example, in the case of a project to develop a new customer information database, sales and marketing management will be much more intimately involved than manufacturing, but all of them ultimately have an interest in the project's success. The purpose of conducting a stakeholder analysis is to determine how stakeholder groups will be concerned. All of the various groups have some unique interests that the project manager will need to reflect upon when developing the communications plan.
Different groups need different types of information, whether they are in sales, marketing, accounting, manufacturing, etc. Project managers, therefore, must contemplate carefully how they will deliver information to each stakeholder group; they must determine which media vehicle or channel they will use such as town hall meetings, presentations, staff meetings, email, etc. They must also take into consideration the right person to deliver the message, which requires thinking through the power base within an organization. Typically, the most persuasive power base is the one with the most expertise in a particular area. The right timing for the message is also important. If information is provided too early, people may ask questions that project managers cannot yet answer; however, if information is delayed too long, it may appear that the project is moving along and people may feel that decisions are being made without their input.
Often, industries, or companies within an industry, will have a unique language. Therefore, it is important that project managers are certain that any contractors or consultants working on the project know the specific terms and jargon used within the company. As in any communication plan, there needs to be a feedback loop to assess how the information is being received. Different interpretations of information can lead people to different conclusions. Making sure that everyone understands common definitions is one way to prevent misunderstandings. As project managers build their communication plan, they will also need to think about barriers, both macro barriers (the large, more obvious barriers that prevent effective communication) as well as potential micro barriers (the more subtle, less obvious barriers).
Key Concepts
Planning for all of the communications tasks throughout the life of the project is essential.
- Key individuals should be identified early. Chief among them are an executive sponsor (someone with authority for responsibility and accountability for the success of the project) and a project champion (an individual with responsibility for delivering the business benefits of the project), along with a working committee, the eyes, ears, and voice for keeping people throughout the organization informed.
- Involving various people from within the company fosters cooperation and buy-in from all the stakeholders.
- A number of key documents will also ensure consistent communication and accountability: a project charter and a Case for Change are the two most critical documents.
- Project managers should be prepared to communicate about problems encountered and any change in the scope of the project.
- Once the deliverables are ready to be put in place, project managers must have a plan for communicating the changes that will occur within the organization to those affected by them.
