Throughout all my time in the workplace, I’ve heard employees at various levels complain about management. Workers always want to blame management for all the problems that end up derailing a project. Or, as a business owner, I hear other business owners complain about how poorly their projects are going with their clients. This is the status quo. Blame management and stay in your safe space without working to fix the problem. Or, maybe you’re on the other side of the equation… maybe you’re a manager or a business owner complaining about how the resources working on your project aren’t accomplishing the goals you had established for the project.
I don’t think the problem is management, or workers, or other businesses. I think the problem is much simpler… poor communication. I know this is true in my business. Some clients are eager to communicate with me. We have weekly meetings, discuss progress, determine if direction should be changed to better meet organization objectives, and spend a little time developing our professional relationships. Other clients simply can’t be bothered. Their schedules are too busy for even a weekly phone call. Which projects do you think go smoother?
Maybe you disagree. Maybe you think that resources should focus on accomplishing the mission assigned to them. Maybe you don’t want to spend time communicating with them. What impact does that have? When dealing with software projects, lack of communication can be catastrophic. You may tell explain a new feature to me, but I may misinterpret your request. Or, maybe your request wasn’t actually what you needed but I delivered exactly what you asked for. In either instance, both time and money has been wasted to move in the wrong direction.
Fortunately, the solution really is simple. Schedule time to communicate with the people on your team – both internal and external, senior and subordinate. Ensure that everyone understands the objectives of the project and provide frequent feedback as the project moves forward. Listen to questions and concerns and work with them to find a solution that best resolves any issues. If you want to achieve the most from any project, this is a necessity. If not, you’ll still be complaining about the same things next year.