Effective Communication

Communication is definitely one of the most important skills that you need to develop to be an effective project manager. But, learning to pass information to you team quickly and efficiently is not always easy and there are mistakes that you should work to avoid.

1. Over Communication: This person sends out emails for every single thing he wants to tell you. He has return requests on every email. And he replies to every single email he is copied on if only to let you know that he received your email and is working on it. The problem with this style is that people are getting so many emails, it becomes difficult to filter through to find the important information.

2. Wordy: This person has a similar issue to Over Communication, but he does it in a slightly different way. If you ask for information, you will receive a 200 page document that takes more of your time to find what you need.

3. Forgetful: This person is usually overworked and distracted. He forgets that he hasn’t sent out the meeting announcements or the changes that were requested. Another aspect of this style involves not knowing. When your project is interacting with other people and needs to be coordinated, some people are not aware of how their information needs to be taken into account by other people. It’s important to know who needs to know what and make sure proper data flow is in place.

Remember to work for clear and concise language. This will help your team and make things run smoothly.

Virtual Challenges

Let’s be honest, working with a group of people is challenging.  Working with a group of people living in different time zones, from different cultures, and sometimes different languages can be more than challenging.  It can be downright impossible.  But, with careful planning and management and preparation, these obstacles can be overcome.

1.  Communication:  The biggest problem with virtual teams is making sure that communication stays open and information is being shared among all of the members.  Careful planning on the part of the manager will ensure that people are getting the information they need when they need it.

2.  Relationships:  Another difficulty is making sure the team relationships stay strong.  When dealing with more text communication, it is easier to misinterpret someone or stereotype them.  If you were speaking face to face, you could read their emotions and intentions with visual and auditory cues.  But, when you are relying on text, it is easy for team members to assume many things that may be untrue and cause conflict in the group.

3.  Performance:  The third obstacle in virtual teams is inspiring the team to preform and meet deadlines.  When you are face to face, it is easier to motivate your team and be sure that all of the pieces are coming together at the right times.  When your team is virtual you will have to work hard to maintain the team’s energy and inspire everyone to keep moving toward the goal.