If schedules are the lifeblood of Project Management, communication is the heartbeat.
It’s what keeps everything moving forward. It creates a team from a collection of people. And it can save your project from massive rework and delays caused by inaccurate information.
These Communication Friday videos are a collection of strategies I’ve collected over the years, based on my experience as a Project Manager. I try to post them to LinkedIn and Facebook, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss a video, the best way is to subscribe to my YouTube Channel: Communication Fridays
I don’t want to re-invent the wheel, but sometimes project templates available aren’t quite right.
When that happens, we have 3 options.
You think everyone is clear on their actions…but then due dates are missed. What happened? Is it your fault?
Not necessarily!
Check out this latest Communication Friday video for my thoughts on this topic.
Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing.
If you keep these stages of team development in mind, you will:
✔️ improve team communication
✔️ reduce your own stress
✔️ reduce stress across your team
Why? Because just knowing what’s happening and why, and understanding that it’s temporary, goes a long way to help give us confidence and energy to keep going.
Do you struggle to log off at the end of the work day?
Maybe it has something to do with how you budget your time.
Not estimating the work hours for a task…but elapsed time due to interruptions.
Here’s a technique that’s very simple yet effective.
I’ve been reading a lot about setting intentions…but every article focuses on *personal* intentions. What about for business?
We really CAN affect the outcomes at work by setting our intentions before every meeting, email, or even message we send a colleague.
Find out how in this latest Communication Friday. 😉
Have a great weekend, everyone – and for those of us in the US: Happy Independence Day Weekend!
We can get so busy we forget to confirm attendance on important meetings…which can lead to disaster.
Today’s video talks about when it’s important to confirm attendance…and the best ways to do it!
Not everyone participates in your team meetings. And the reason may not be what you think…
While some people attend every meeting and are very engaged, others are quiet and barely participate.
It could be because they’re not comfortable in a large group setting. Or that they’re intimidated by the other people in the room.
In this video, I give the 3 strategies I use to help these people feel connected, empowered…and to get the information I need from them! 🙂
How do you make sure your team is completing their tasks without constantly asking for updates?
Start broad and narrow it down as the due date gets closer.
Move from general to personal.
Lots of space to specific questions.
It’s a logical progression. And that gives you the best response.
Are you COMFORTABLE leading? Do you think you need to ACT LIKE SOMEONE ELSE to connect with your team?
Hopefully NOT a News Flash: your team can SEE RIGHT THROUGH IT.
The BEST WAY to CONNECT with them is to BE YOURSELF.
Give it a try. You’ll be more comfortable. They’ll trust you a lot more.
#WIN/WIN.
In the battle of written communication, neither Email nor Direct Messaging comes out on top.
DM is great for “real time” back and forth conversations and quick questions.
Email is key when you can’t afford misinterpretation. You can take your time and make sure you’re crystal clear.
They may be grumpy. They may bring everyone else down. But they usually have a valid point!
Listen to them.
Like it or not, your people need the information multiple times in multiple ways.
Use different methods. Repeat the information.
And the more critical the information you’re sharing, the more important this is!
“They said it couldn’t be done but we knew it needed some more stuff from her before it could be sent there.”
WHAT??
Pronouns are handy…except when they cause more confusion! During this Communication Friday video, I talk about big miscommunication caused by little words.
We don’t always know where to go next in our career.
But its obvious to those who are listening to us. We become animated. We speak faster. There’s a “spark”.