Reduce Project Variability…Start Listening
December 2nd, 2002 by HalI've been teaching listening from the time I started teaching project management. Invariably, a large percentage (often a great majority) of the sources of mis-coordination on projects is the result of project participants not listening. Mis-listening just adds to the variability and uncertainty on our projects. You can do something about this.
One action to take immediately is to check out The Listening Leader. This is a weekly email newsletter by Dr. Rick Bommelje. He is a member of The International Listening Association where you'll find resources to build your competence. I'm reprinting today's newsletter message for you. While it is written about the functional manager, just substitute project for functional and it still applies.
THE FUNCTIONAL MANAGER: LISTENING IS A MUST FOR SUCCESSListening is a hallmark of a mature leader, and its one that requires patience, empathy and approachability. Obviously, functional managers also have to communicate with their people. At this level, there's no room for inarticulate or isolated managers or ones who can only communicate with their direct reports. With more levels to penetrate, functional managers must engage in dialogue with people up and down the line and in all sub functions. Some of this dialogue can be facilitated by the Internet, Intranet, faxes, and so on, but there's no substitute for face-to-face conversations and the emotional engagement that results from them. Again, this means making more time for this activity and taking away time from a less important one.
Functional managers must master a variety of listening skills. For instance, they must be able to listen not only to what is being said but what is not being said. They must be alert for topics that are avoided, for hesitancy about addressing a particular problem. They also must be able to cross-check frames of reference. By this we mean that each individual in a conversation has a particular set of assumptions and experiences that shape his/her words. This is particularly true when it comes to measurement. One person may say the results are outstanding, while another views the same results as mediocre; it all depends on the frames of reference. Functional managers learn to take these frames of references into consideration during conversations to avoid misinterpretation.
Source: The Leadership Pipeline, Ram Charan, et al, pp. 73-74.
Ram Charan is a leading thinker of leadership, management, and general business along with being a prolific writer. One of my favorites is his book What Every CEO Wants You to Know.
You can subscribe to The Listening Leader by sending an email to: listeningleader-on@lists.webvalence.com.
Related Posts
- Pace Arrivals to Increase Throughput The everyday understanding of lean is do something without waste. Another aspect is to reduce variability. Doing s...
- Checking In — About to Become Sport I suspect we've all had the experience of attending meetings where there wasn't full participation of those in attendanc...
- Experimenting with the Listening Workplace I've had some provocative comments on my speculation for a Listening Workplace (5R). (See Clearings, Intentions and Not...
- Build Listening Systems for Project Success Project success depends on team members performing well. Project managers can do their part by developing their listeni...
- You’re Bound to Be Surprised I've been telling people listening is the master skill of the leader. Jeffrey Cufaude goes one step further. In Ju...
