Published
I recently observed a skills practice session (essentially a role play) in which someone managing a systems development project needed to engage someone whose work was essential to the project but who was fast becoming a bottle-neck. The role play went brilliantly. It was a masterclass in how to engage with and address the emotions in a given situation and how to use a sympathetic but assertive approach to gain firm commitment for what was needed.
In effect, what this boiled down to was that the project manager dramatically increased the chances of their project succeeding through the course of a 20 minute online call. In essence, the software manager dramatically changed his attitude towards the project.
It prompted me to think: where do 20 minute conference calls feature in the bodies of knowledge on project delivery, and how do we record ‘attitude change’ as a progress indicator?
The truth is that conversation is perhaps the single most important tool in a project manager’s armoury. We do know and understand this (witness reports such as the recent Association report on Better Early Project Conversations) but maybe we should give it more emphasis.
“We can try to describe the content of good early project conversations, but what – or rather who – can make sure they take place and the right people are involved?”
A good conversation is a rich and nuanced tool allowing you:
- To gauge support or opposition to an idea or a project
- To change perceptions and attitudes (as in the example of the role play)
- Bring people on board, up to speed; helping them to feel included, motivated and involved
- Collaboratively articulate an idea or a solution by expressing and discussing what you may have struggled to get your head around
- Manage imminent risk
- Communicate meaning or progress in a way that you could never do through a report or an e-mail
The beauty of the technique is that in many cases, simply giving people time to air their views or share how they are feeling may be enough to diffuse a potentially difficult situation. The sense that they have been listened to and understood is enough.
So the next time, when presented with the opportunity for a conversation, you find yourself responding with a knee-jerk: “We don’t have time” or “Now’s not the time to raise that issue”, just take a beat. Maybe, just maybe, that this conversation could be the twenty minutes that fundamentally changes the course of your project.