I'm a Project Manager. Is Communication MY Job?

If you’ve been a project manager for any length of time, have you noticed how much communicating you do?

I’ve heard it said that project managers have 3 priorities: communication, communication, and communication. I don’t disagree.

It begs the question, however: are we supposed to do ALL of the communicating on our projects OURSELVES? Are we personally responsible for all project communication?

Because we are typically very good at communication (and if you’re not, it’s a high-priority skill you’ll want to develop), sometimes communication seems to happen faster and easier if we just do it ourselves, rather than leave it in the hands of other team members or stakeholders. And it can be fun to be the “translator” between people in different spheres—making sure technical people and leadership, for example, are on the same page.

At the same time, if we take on ALL communication on our projects, mediating between everyone just to make sure communication is fast and clear, this can be a recipe for burnout for us. It can also be a barrier to growth and engagement for our teams.

So in terms of project communication, what exactly are we responsible for? And what approach creates an optimally-functioning team?

Based on my experience, here’s the answer I’ve come to live with:

It’s my job to ensure communication happens.

I consider myself responsible to ensure communication is effective. I make sure everyone gets the information they need. The critical point isn’t whether I’m doing it; I just need to make sure it has occurred and is adequate.

In a recent post, I explored what I see as a major aspect of a project manager’s role: having a variety of tools to move a project forward, and being the expert at selecting the right tool. So in this case, what tools do I use to ensure communication happens? I have two main options:

1. Do the communicating myself.
2. Monitor the communication of others, setting them up for success beforehand or adding clarification afterward when needed.

Any chance you’re a parent? I have a stepson, and I see parallels here to the steps I take to setting him up to function independently. There was a point I would have picked out his clothes for school, packed his backpack, and tied his shoes. Now that he’s older, I’m not doing those things for him on most typical school mornings—I’m just ensuring that they happen. As his skills level up, monitoring is the better parenting tool in more and more situations.

I don’t mean this in a patronizing way to my teammates, and neither are we trying to work ourselves out of a job as project managers the way we are as parents. But in a professional setting if we happen to be more skilled in an area, whatever the area is, we make our teams stronger if we help teammates level up on that skill.

There are also practical considerations in choosing your approach to ensuring effective communication: how much time do you have, and how much communication needs to happen? In a slower period, I might do more communicating myself. In a busier period, I might monitor more.

What does it look like to set others up for successful communication? I do this in many ways, but here are a few examples:

• Writing meeting agendas with clear goals to help meetings stay focused.
• Asking someone a question they may not have considered, but letting them pursue the answer.
• Ensuring the appropriate people are involved in a conversation, but letting the conversation proceed without me.

Often it comes down to flagging details or considerations for people they might otherwise miss.

So what communication needs do your projects have, and which communication tool is the right one for today? Build your proficiency at using both tools and choosing the right one, and you’ll be well on your way to ensuring your teams and stakeholders have all the right information at the right times.