Topic Teasers Vol. 95: Talking to Teams

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  Communications Management  

I like being a project manager because I’m comfortable with the orderliness of schedules, details and calculating data. There’s not so much comfort for me around dealing with teams and individual team members. Working with them is so different for each person. Are there any quick tips for at least being a little better dealing with this important part of my projects, where I admit I’m weak?

A. The reality is that managing projects is all about the people. Despite training or certification, if you do not have exemplary people skills you should not be in this field. Working well with others is something you either learn as a child or will never learn. It’s too late now.

B. Why do you want to waste valuable time coddling team members? Make sure they know that you are the authority for the team, and that your word goes. If they do not do what they should in the timeframe you have allocated, ask your human resources department the procedure for putting them on notice that without corrections to their behavior, they will be terminated.

C. Look at the way you talk to children, or at least read articles about what you should and shouldn’t say to them. This can give you an easy and familiar framework to think …

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