Chapter 5

THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF COMMUNICATION

On April 7, 1865, two days before the American Civil War ended, Abraham Lincoln sent a telegram to his commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant. The telegram read, “Gen. Sheridan says ‘If the thing is pressed I think that Lee will surrender.’ Let the thing be pressed.”¹ This is a masterful example of concise communication. Lincoln—upper management—conveyed to his project manager, Grant, exactly what he wanted done. He also conveyed his reason, even though Grant likely knew that Lee and his formerly fearsome army had been forced to flee their Petersburg and Richmond defenses and should be caught. Two days after Grant received Lincoln’s message, Lee surrendered.

Project managers are not likely to have their communications studied a century and a half after they are made. Project managers will also not likely be working for the same high stakes that Lincoln and Grant were. However, even seemingly small projects aimed at solving more mundane problems may well serve to prevent major future problems. As Lincoln showed in the entire body of his Civil War communication, “telling the story,” or setting the project in context, is an important contributor—perhaps the most important contributor—to project success. This remains true today.

THE PROJECT MANAGER’S ROLE IN COMMUNICATION

“Ninety percent of a project manager’s time is spent communicating” is a common maxim in the project management realm. How can this be? When you think about the complexity of communications in terms of content and channels (or paths), this scenario begins to make sense. PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) uses the formula n(n-1)/2 to determine the total number of potential channels, where “n” represents the number of stakeholders. So if your “small” project has 20 team members, the executive stakeholders number about five, and three project managers from other divisions are interested in your progress, your project has 378 potential communication channels [28(28-1)/2 = 378]. As the PMBOK^® Guide suggests, “a key component of planning the project’s actual communications is to determine and limit who will communicate with whom and who will receive what information.”²

The project manager is typically the person responsible for selling the project vision, as well as the methods used to implement that vision. At the start of the project, the federal project manager should establish a communication program that reflects three basic purposes:

1.    Disseminate and receive information. The foundation of the communication program is a plan for what will be communicated, how, by whom, and to whom. Just as important is what information the project manager or team expects or needs to receive from stakeholders.

2.    Achieve support for the project. The project manager and team should use the content and context of the messages communicated to build and maintain support for the project and its outcomes. People cannot support what they don’t know about.

3.    Comply with federal reporting requirements. Project managers must be cognizant of reporting requirements internal to their organization, the larger department, or federal policy agencies such as OMB and EPA. Multijurisdictional projects may also require reporting to state and local or even international government authorities.

SETTING THE CONTEXT

The key to fulfilling the purpose of communication is context. Why is context important? Try to identify the two missing numbers: 0 7 0 4 1 7 _ _. Some people immediately try to figure a mathematical solution, while others try to discern a pattern. However, if additional information is provided, for example “American history,” it becomes easier to determine that 7and 6 are the last two numbers, completing the date the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Communication is all about context. The message must be relevant to the circumstance or framework within which it is received. The project leader has to be able to explain the context of the project; how the project fits into organization, agency, or department plans and goals; and how it meets the needs of the stakeholders. The appropriate context means that the message is delivered using the language, vocabulary, or common lexicon of the audience.

For a project with a wide variety of stakeholders, the project manager has the added complexity of communicating in a context that is appropriate for each distinct group. Although the audience and the context may vary, consistency in the message is critical to the credibility of the message and the messenger. Successful communication can be defined as getting the right message to the right people at the right time, using the right delivery methods and the right language.

Effective communication enables the project manager to maintain support throughout the project, particularly in the (likely) event that things do not go exactly as planned. The two-way aspects of communication give the project leader the information needed to detect and solve problems early, and to recognize and keep doing what is going well. Moreover, continuing open communication helps buy the project manager time to solve problems when they occur.

COMMUNICATION MATRIX AND PLAN

Communication can be internal or external, with gradients and inter-connections (see Figure 5-1). Agency upper management, for example, can be considered either an internal or an external audience. Media is external, while customers might be considered internal or external. Communication can also be formal or informal. For example:

   •   Formal external communications: OMB Exhibit 300 (about as formal as a government report can get), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and requests from Congress.

   •   Formal internal communications: Memoranda, budget exhibits, status reports, project presentations, and scope statements.

   •   Informal external communications: Phone calls from citizens or other agencies, e-mail inquiries, and news reports and articles.

   •   Informal internal communications: “Water cooler” meetings, e-mails, and even the project manager’s behavior (which sets an example for team members).

A budget is usually a formal internal communication, occasionally shared formally or informally with external recipients. By comparison, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and citizen queries are always external, with the latter varying in formality. The relationship among internal/external and informal/formal is important because it indicates the level of effort required to develop, review, and disseminate the message, as well as the message itself and the communication method.

Finally, communication can be verbal or in writing. The most appropriate form of communication (e.g., e-mail, phone call, report) should be chosen for each audience. Even though communication should be tailored to the audience, the project manager should be careful not to deliver an inconsistent message by telling different audiences different things (or different versions of the same thing). Tailoring the context and message for audiences still requires consistency in content and intent.

Knowing the formality, source, and destination of various communications helps project managers allocate time and attention appropriately. Thus, the development and implementation of a formal communication plan is a critical tool. Project managers might create a matrix for each form of communication, including the following key elements:

   •   Information need/message. Description or outline of the specific information (e.g., project status, specific risk, upcoming event) that is the focus of the communication. If feedback is required, describe what information is expected and how it will be gathered.

   •   From. The individuals who will be the source or signatory of the message or information.

   •   To. The stakeholder groups or individuals who will receive the message or information.

   •   Delivery method/communication medium. The communication tool (e.g., e-mail, report, broadcast) or activity (e.g., meeting, demonstration, training) used to deliver the message or information.

   •   Frequency/delivery date. Timing of the contact (e.g., one time, weekly, monthly) and the delivery date.

   •   Prepared by. The person responsible for preparing the message (not necessarily the person named in “From”). This category may also identify the person required to approve the message or information to be disseminated.

The communication plan should be as detailed and specific as possible, including the names of the stakeholders and others responsible for particular areas. Effective communication plans are developed using the results of a thorough stakeholder analysis.

No matter the format or the specific content, the key is that a structured, documented plan for project communication will continually pay dividends. A project communication plan will facilitate the engagement of all key stakeholders, actively engage team members, and ensure that important messages are delivered and information is shared.

Since communication is an operational as well as an informational tool, receiving information on project progress will let leaders and managers move to correct minor problems before they become major problems. Regular reports also provide a good opportunity to seek further input from stakeholders. The project manager should ask them not just if they like how things are going, but how things might be improved. This is also the time to look for support networks outside the project team, perhaps those undertaking similar or complementary functions. Effective information channels can only benefit project management.

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

Failed projects apparently make good headlines. Communicating with the media is an issue for any federal project manager who is senior enough to have authority to talk with the media. It is hard to argue against openness. Maintaining good relations with the media, when things are going well and even when they are not, buys the benefit of the doubt. This approach may secure the project manager time to correct problems if things do go wrong. News reports of problems, legal or otherwise, are bad enough. But when they end with “refused to comment,” whatever the reality, it looks like the project manager is trying to hide something. All too often, managers and leaders, including elected political leaders, have in fact been trying to hide something.

How to deal with the media should be planned at the start of the project and consistently implemented during the project. At the outset, project managers should consider the potential media interest in their project. If the project has high visibility and may garner press attention, project managers should work with department executives, the media office, and legal counsel to determine an appropriate approach. The results of discussions (e.g., plans for press releases, interviews, town hall meetings) with the internal players should be integrated into the project communication plan.

INFORMATION ACCESS AND SECURITY

Federal officials have two additional factors to consider in dealing with the flow of information: access and security. First, the Freedom of Information Act (enacted in 1966) requires that certain materials be made public. In 1996 the act was amended to facilitate “public access to information in an electronic format.”³

As a practical matter, project managers should be aware of their organization’s policies and procedures associated with FOIA requests. In most situations, the office responsible for the department’s FOIA process will inform the project manager when a request warrants action. Project managers should also consider the potential for future FOIA requests when determining the type of information and the method for archiving it once the project is complete.

Second, national security concerns require that certain materials not be made public. In consultation with upper management (possibly including the FOIA, security, legal, and inspector general offices), the project manager will to have to decide what information, if any, needs to remain confidential throughout the project, what information will need to remain confidential during certain phases of the project but can later be released, and what information should be totally open. Confidential or “classified” information may include private information about citizens (e.g., Social Security numbers, tax data) as well as national security information. Every federal agency is staffed with experts who are fully knowledgeable about information security and classification; the project manager should call on their expertise in establishing appropriate and legally compliant information security policies and procedures for the project.

Successful federal project managers will find that a significant portion of their job requires them to communicate—to executives, team members, the interested public, probing media, and even a concerned Congress. Increased access to information, both accurate and inaccurate, will only increase the pressure on project managers to keep the information flowing both to and from the project’s stakeholders. Employing technology will address part of the challenge, specifically methods, timing, and frequency. But at the end of the day, the project manager must have a sound communication plan, an effective approach to developing messages, a clear process for obtaining feedback, and a deep understanding of the project’s context from the stakeholders’ perspectives.

NOTE

1.    Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant, April 7, 1865, The Literary Works of Abraham Lincoln, selected, with an introduction by Carl van Doren and with illustrations by John Steuart Curry (NewYork: The Heritage Press, 1942), p. 276.

2.    Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide), Fifth Edition (Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, 2013), p. 292.

3.    General Services Administration, Your Right to Federal Records: Questions and Answers on the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, May 2006, p. i.