Communication and Managing People in Change Projects
Project managers have to be able to effectively manage projects with respect to time, scope and cost but a greater challenge is to manage the project team. People are crucial for the success and timely delivery of a project and managing people issues is an important factor.
The role of leadership in project management is crucial to give the right direction to the project team and the key skills that a leader must possess and tasks that a leader should execute will be explained. Stakeholder analysis needs to be carried out by the project manager to identify key stakeholders and consider their power and influence in the outcome of the project. Communication methods such as Clampitt’s five communication strategies will be analysed and can be used by project managers as an effective approach to communicate the project goals to the team. Based on stakeholder mapping, different communication strategies can be adopted depending on the power and influence of a stakeholder in the project.
Project managers need to create a conducive environment for project members to work together as a team. During the course of a project, there will be scenarios where the employees lose motivation and drive to give their hundred percent. The project team must be motivated and guided in the right direction. Therefore managers must be able to identify sources of resistance from the employees and manage them effectively. The different ways to avoid or minimize resistance will be discussed. Project managers need to understand the behavior, culture and needs of the project team. People behavior such as resistance to change, and conflicts, if not dealt with effectively, becomes a setback to the delivery of the project. To avoid such situations, the use of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation theories from the beginning of the project is recommended and Maslow’s hierarchy and Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene theory will be reflected upon. Different stages of psychological reactions of employees will also be touched upon to develop ways to avoid or minimize resistance from project employees.
