Communications Skills For Project Managers

What is the most important responsibility of a project manger? Effectively communicating with others on the team. Learn how to keep everyone in the loop--even when setbacks occur--to ensure project success.

Effective communication on projects is a challenging, ongoing process for project managers and stakeholders at all levels within an organization. Project managers experience the greatest challenge due to the nature of their position. They set up and regulate communications that support a project overall. Effective Communications for Project Management examines elements of effective communications and describes the role that a Project Management Information System (PMIS) has in helping project managers become better communicators. Based on the author’s practical experience and insight as a project and program manager, the book describes the role of personaltiy and its effect on the communications process. It also details the seven elements of effective communications: Applying active and effective listening Preparing the communications and establishing an issues management process Drafting and publishing documentation Conducting meetings Giving effective presentations Developing and deploying a project website Building a project war room Containing examples and checklists that are adaptable to almost any project environment, this book is an invaluable resource that not only demonstrates how to attain effective communications, but also how communications can effect a project’s bottom line.

This book presents a new way to look at communication within projects. It combines real-world examples and practical tips with theory, research, and professional standards you can apply to any size and type of project. Communication is vital for project success. Experts know it. Industry-wide research verifies it. Yet projects continue to fail because of poor communication. As a result, stakeholders and organizations don’t realize the benefits of their projects and project teams. This book presents a new way to look at communication within projects. It combines real-world examples and practical tips with theory, research, and professional standards you can apply to any size and type of project. Gain actionable insights into identifying your audience, choosing the right tools, managing change, and handling conflict. Expand your professional toolkit with templates, activities, and resources. Develop your project communications expertise with reflective questions and recommendations. Whether you are a project manager, team member, project sponsor, or stakeholder, this book is for you. For educators, the book is ideal for students studying project management and related fields. Make your project communications a critical factor in your project success!

You may have heard that "90% of a project manager's work is communication." But, have you heard why communication is so important and what is good project management communication? Answering those questions is why I spent the last ten years studying project management communication and what makes a successful project. Not only as a working project manager but as a communication researcher. I found that project management communication needs to be reinvented for today's more complex and agile projects. Communication is no longer just the transfer of information and giving directives to project teams. Modern communication theory is based upon creating shared understanding - "the coordinated management of meaning." And nowhere is it more important to manage and coordinate meaning - and understanding - than in projects. In my book, I will explain: -How to communicate for understanding instead of just giving information.-What Aristotle taught us about effective communication and why his 2,000-year old advice is still vital to persuasive communication.-How the "Coordinated Management of Meaning" can help you develop and lead high-performing project teams.-Why the project manager is the communication hub and how you can better manage the flow of project communication.-Why project managers need to master both emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence when communicating with their project teams and stakeholders. Be more effective in negotiations when you understand the hidden emotional and cultural subtexts.-What cognitive biases are and how they are barriers to understanding. This book will teach you how to recognize and overcome cognitive biases to better communicate your message.-How to effectively communicate online with a distributed workforce by virtually "present."-Why communicating for understanding is the foundation of being a coaching, situational leadership, and servant leadership project manager.This is not just a book on theory; I also give the working project manager practical tips and tools to help him or her improve their project management communication. These workplace-tested tips and tools are ready to use today as you manage your projects.I wrote this book because I couldn't find many books on project management communication. And the books I found were mainly focused on the outdated information transfer model. Because communication is important to project success, this book is dedicated to giving project managers the latest communication research and methods so he or she can create a culture of understanding in projects and increase the chances for project success.

Ongoing research shows that whilst 90 per cent of large companies are conducting global projects to take advantage of distributed skills, around-the-clock operations and virtual team environments, less than one third of them have effective, established practices to help project managers and team members working over a distance. As a consequence, most organisations struggle to reach the required levels of quality and effectiveness from these projects because their methods and practices are not adapted to a global multi-cultural environment, where most communication is in writing and asynchronous. Global Project Management describes how to adapt your organisation and your projects to thrive in this environment. The book goes beyond the recommendations on collaborative tools, to suggest the development of best practices on cross-cultural team management and global communication, recommend organisational changes and project structures, and propose alternatives for the implementation of the new practices and methods. The text is filled with real-life examples and techniques and illustrates how to apply the recommendations as part of the successful management of any global project.

Improve Your Interpersonal Skills to Achieve Greater Management Success! Any formula for management success must include a high level of interpersonal skills. The growing complexity of organizational portfolios, programs, and projects, as well as the increasing number and geographic dispersion of stakeholders and employees, makes a manager's interpersonal skills critical. The frequency and variety of interpersonal interactions and the pressure to perform multiple leadership roles successfully while ensuring customer satisfaction have never been greater.Interpersonal Skills for Portfolio, Program, and Project Managers offers practical and proven tools and methods you can use to develop your interpersonal skills and meet the challenges of today's competitive professional environment. Develop the interpersonal skills you need to: • Build effective, high-performing teams • Work efficiently with virtual teams • Develop approaches to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders at all levels • Handle stress and deal with unexpected critical incidents • Motivate your team Whatever your level of experience, you will find these practical and proven methods to be the best formula for improving your interpersonal skills-and enhancing your management success. The chapters include discussion questions, making this a perfect text for use in academic or workshop settings.

The authoritative reference on one of the most important aspects of managing projects--project communications With shorter production cycles and the demand for projects being faster, cheaper, and better, the need for project communications tools has increased. Written with the project manager, stakeholder, and project team in mind, this resource provides the best practices, tips, tricks, and tools for successful project communications and planning. The featured charts, graphs, and tables are all ready for immediate use. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.