Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Two-Way Street
To get open, honest information from team members you have to give it.
A healthy exchange of information is critical in keeping your project humming and your team members happy. Here are eight principles to fostering open communication and offering feedback on performance.
1. Be open yourself. Assess your communication style to reduce gatekeeping and sandbagging. Choking off or manipulating information frustrates the team, while being open improves efficiency. If team members know where they stand, they won't waste time creating wild scenarios.
2. Be honest. Who wouldn't want to be honest? But it requires vigilance. Continually check what you say against the rigors of the schedule, budget and quality goals. Don't make project status look better than it is. If you sugarcoat things, it's more difficult to tell people bad news later.
3. Reward the truth. If you speak the truth, it's likely your team members will, too. And that's a habit to encourage. Don't bury a team member in reprimands when he or she admits a small error; likewise, don’t protect anyone whose performance could jeopardize your project.
4. Warm up your relationships. Team members are more apt to communicate openly if you treat them as more than mere functionaries. Listen and learn about their lives outside of work, including spouses' and children's names and upcoming …
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"Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as muscles grow flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it." - Walt Disney |