schedule throughout the project period.
5. Point out the likely problem areas. Don’t wait for someone else to discover problems. Anticipate
them and verbalize your concern. Other managers appreciate this, and will respect your consideration.
For example, you may state, “In this phase, I will depend on the employee from your department. But I
think the phase comes up during your busy cycle.” As long as you and the other manager work
together, you can resolve the problem before the conflicting deadlines are upon you. This does away
with the scheduling problem, and improves your relationship with the other manager.
6. Agree on priorities for the project. Some project managers attempt to meet deadlines and create an
atmosphere of teamwork and cooperation, only to face unending conflict--between team members,
outside resources, and other departments. This problem often arises because the priorities of the project
have never been expressed clearly.
Once you get other people to agree to your priorities, your communication task becomes much easier. In
many projects, however, the perceptions of the various people and departments involved are so different that
efforts are constantly in conflict with one another. For example, your priority may be to gather information
needed to prepare a report, whereas another manager’s priority is to put cost-cutting measures into effect.
What is the project supposed to achieve?
Leave nothing unexplained, or assumptions will fill the gaps. If you are to get any cooperation at all, it’s up to
you to explain what you’re doing so that it’s understood by everyone involved.
RUNNING THE MEETING
You may think of meetings as long, drawn-out exercises in discussion leading to few results or decisions. Or,
you may view them as simply an inefficient way to get things done. However, a well-organized and controlled
meeting—especially a short one—can improve communication on all levels.
Your first task is to control the scope and time of the meeting, as follows:
1. Invite only those who are absolutely essential to the agenda. The more people in your meeting, the
more difficult it will be to stay on the subject and to get anything done.
2. Limit the time. If your meetings run too long, you won’t achieve results.
3. Set meeting goals for yourself. Write out an agenda—not just by topics but by goals. What do you
want to accomplish in your meeting? Someone should be able to read the agenda and know exactly
what will be achieved.
Next, you will need to get your message across to the attendees—whether team members, department
managers, executives, consultants, or other outside resources. You maintain control of the meeting by moving
through the agenda and ensuring that decisions are made and actions assigned. Some projects are helped by
periodic five-minute team meetings, during which the coming week’s assignments are discussed and clarified.
Other meetings can be useful for resolving problems at various levels.
You will get your message across by using several aids to communication, such as:
1. The agenda. The agenda itself can be a powerful communication tool, if correctly designed. For
example, a team member is facing a department deadline that interferes with a project deadline. You
could list this agenda item as “Scheduling Conflicts,” a passive approach. But it would be better to
describe it as “Resolution to Upcoming Conflict in Schedule,” thus emphasizing a solution to the
problem, rather than merely raising the topic and talking about it.
2. Simplified flowchart. Many people have problems understanding something as complex as a
network diagram. They can relate better to a top-to-bottom flowchart that isolates a period of time and a
limited number of tasks or phases.
3. Gantt chart. To explain a scheduling problem and make it extremely visual, the Gantt
chart—although not so useful for your project control effort—can be used in project meetings, if only
to communicate the problem you’re facing.
4. Network diagram. For team meetings, the network diagram is the most effective communication
tool. If you expect a problem in the near future, both the explanation and the likely solution will be
made easier with the use of the network diagram.
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