Reflection on Communication within Project Management

       Image you are at the mercy of a team member sending you information, it impacts his submission deadline, as well as yours. Now consider the use of email, voicemail, and face-to-face methods for conveying your urgency. 

Here is such conversation between 

  

Mark—who has the information, and       

 

Jane whose waiting; and used email, voicemail, and face-to-face to try to obtain the information.

Jane's Email--was like… hey Mark, umm, still need that data--unsure what that data was as it was not identified, but Jane needed it. The first sentence gave me the impression that Jane was poking fun at the fact Mark had to attend “that all day meeting”. To me, Jane’s voicemail, her tone and reflection of her voice provided the importance of the information she was waiting for; the face-to-face, even though I encourage this over email or voicemail, lacked the urgency she displayed in the voicemail. The face-to-face came over as a casual conversation and not one where the sole purpose of the conversation was the need for information. 

In all three cases, Jane lacked the detail of what the data was supposed to be, and nor did she indicate her deadline—the date or time.  Jane did provide an alternative, emailing the data, verses waiting for Mark’s report to arrive—the report contained the data she needed for her report.

Reflecting on Jane and Mark, my office, and  Portny et al (2014) Project Management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. I recognize, and will convey, the importance of relaying information in a manner that fits the media to which it travels.

We know an email,  

 unorganized, running together, lacking clear purpose or need is pushed to the wayside—maybe not the trash, but close. In this electronic media age, emails reach individuals easier; they are not required to be in the office, at their computer. 

As an instructor of an information report, I told my students to write the subject line in

such a manner to catch the eye of the reader; the same applies here. Write emails to catch the eye of the intended reader, without unneeded distracting information increases the probability it will be read. Ensure all information is clear, lacks confusion, due dates, brief explanation to why the information is needed, and end with appropriate acknowledgement. In addition, before sending, assign an importance or use options to set up a read receipt. Do not blame the recipient for delay in sending information if you forget to give all the details.

If you know you are a poor email writer, and lack the time to do a face-to-face

conversation, consider calling and leave a voicemail. Here too, there are considerations for an effective voicemail message. Forget the monotone, as that will drive someone to accidentally delete the message. Speak in the same manner as if you were face-to-face; interject a sense of urgency in the tone of your voice without shouting; and have simple notes to guide you in what you need to speak on. Follow-up with an email, incase the voicemail gets deleted and there is no means of knowing they listened until a gap opens up affecting project deadlines.  

Face-to-face (f2f) should be considered your first option in conveying information as you can influence their attention span—on you, and obtain immediate feedback whether they understood the conversation and tasking(s) associated with it. Understanding the individual you conduct an f2f enables you to know what approach

to use—formal or informal. Formal has the individual sitting upright, full-undivided attention, while informal allows them to relax. In either case, when seeking information make sure to convey up front the need for the conversation, what you need—do not be vague, deadlines involved, and alternatives to provide the information to you in a timely manner.

Bottom Line:

No matter the method of seeking or conveying information, never forget to remind folks the impact everyone has on the project, it is a team effort, and everyone needs to pull his or her weight for the project to succeed.

Reference:

EDUC 6135 Week 3 Blog Assignment Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html.

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.