Project Management
Chapter 6. Communication Management,
Leadership, and Project Team
Management
,6.0 Learning Objective and Overview
Learning Objectives
1. Evaluate the importance of good communication in project management
2. Create a communication management plan.
3. Describe the interpersonal and technical skills that project managers need to lead
project teams and manage the projects effectively.
4. Explain the methods of how project managers can cope with conflicts by utilizing
interpersonal skills.
5. List the leadership styles, and define the servant leadership that is favored for
project managers.
6. Explain how project managers can create a culture pertinent to a project.
7. Describe the processes to develop and manage project teams.
8. Describe the virtual project teams that are exponentially utilized worldwide by all
types of organizations, and compare in-person and virtual teams.
6.0 Overview
As highlighted in Chapter 5 “Stakeholder Management”, project managers and their teams spend most
of their time communicating and collaborating with the stakeholders. Indeed, project managers,
themselves, spend 90% of their time communicating. Therefore, most of this chapter addresses the
aspects of communication which is necessary to sustain a healthy relationship with all the stakeholders
besides project team members. In this chapter, we are also focusing on the team management that
elaborates on the relationships between the project manager and other team members as well the
relationships among all team members. Working with people, inside and outside the project team,
involves dealing with them both logically and emotionally. A successful working relationship between
individuals begins with appreciating the importance of emotions and how they relate to personality
types, leadership styles, negotiations, and setting goals.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK
guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
150
, Project Management
6.1 Communications Management
Projects require teamwork, and team members must communicate with each other in a variety of ways.
The documents they produce must be collected, distributed, and stored in an appropriate manner to
assure timely and accurate communication between team members. This process is often assisted by a
variety of technologies including computer and smartphone software programs and applications. The
advent of the Internet accompanied by various ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies),
and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of 2019 accelerated the process of
digitalization for people, and all organizations including the companies, multinational corporates, non-
governmental organizations, governments, and international bodies. Thus, the adoption and spread of
ICTs worldwide across organizations and countries increased exponentially. The utilization of global
virtual teams in organizations increased to unprecedented levels. 94% of the respondents of
CultureWizard’s Global Virtual Work Survey indicated that employees want to continue working from
home—at least part time. More virtual presence has brought about new challenges as detailed in the
“Virtual Teams” section in this chapter.
ICTs can facilitate faster and better communication, or they can become a barrier if they are not well
understood and applied appropriately. Besides, as detailed in Chapter 5, the project manager and the
team should be in ongoing contact with all the stakeholders based on their power and interest levels,
and other factors such as influence, involvement, support required, and interdependencies. This
necessitates the manager to choose an optimal portfolio of communication technologies and
methodologies. Therefore, these issues should be well-thought by the project manager while preparing
the project plan and its subcomponent “Project Communications Management Plan”.
6.1.1 Communication Management Plan
Communications management is about keeping everybody in the loop. The communications planning
process concerns defining the types of information we will deliver, who will receive it, the format for
communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. Hence, it is of high importance to make
sure everybody gets the right message at the right time.
As is the case for all knowledge areas (e.g., scope, schedule, cost, resource, risk, communication,
stakeholder), the first step is to plan so that we can delineate the guidelines that we should follow
during the execution of the project activities, and while we monitor and control them. This provides us a
direction based on the information needs of each stakeholder, available organizational assets, and the
needs of the project. All projects require a sound communication plan, but not all projects will have the
same types of communication or the same methods for collecting, analyzing, and distributing the
information. The communication plan documents the types of information needs the stakeholders have,
151
, Project Management
when the information should be distributed, how the information will be delivered with which
frequency, who will receive it, and the format and technologies we will use to communicate.
First off, we should figure out what kind of communication our stakeholders (including the project
team) need so they can make good decisions and they are well-informed. This is called the
communications requirements analysis. Our project will produce a lot of information, so we don’t want
to overwhelm the stakeholders with all of it. Our job is to figure out what they feel is valuable.
Therefore, the stakeholder power/interest grid (matrix) and the stakeholder engagement assessment
matrix would be very helpful to determine the priorities of each stakeholder, and how we can
communicate with each of them (see Chapter 5), Communicating valuable information doesn’t mean we
always paint a rosy picture. Communications to stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad
news. The point is that we don’t want to bury stakeholders in too much information but we do want to
give them enough so that they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions. ICTs have a major
impact on how we keep people in the loop. Therefore, our analysis and the plan should include them.
We should answer the questions below in our communications management plan:
What are the methods of communicating that we need to consider? Which methods can we
choose to transfer information?
It can take many forms, such as written reports, conversations, email, formal status
reports, meetings, online databases, online schedules, and project websites.
How should we arrange the timing of the information exchange or need for updates? What is
the reporting frequency for each stakeholder according to the expectations and concerns of
stakeholders?
Based on the role and responsibilities of team members, and the interest and power
levels of stakeholders, methods, and frequency should be identified for each
stakeholder.
In “Case Study 5.2” in Chapter 3 which created the stakeholder power/interest grid
for Grocery LLC’s mobile-commerce project, we indicated store managers in the
inspection committee and online customers who are willing to do their shopping
through the mobile app. While we can communicate with these store managers more
frequently (e.g., once a week) by in-person and online meetings, and emails during the
project, we can communicate with the customers less frequently by sending them
updates in a newsletter format every two weeks.
Who is the person responsible for communicating the information? Who authorizes the release
of confidential information? Who receives the information according to their needs,
expectations, and concerns?
Do we need to procure new technology or systems, or are there systems already in place that
will work?
This is also a part of enterprise environmental factors and organizational process
assets to take into consideration while planning any knowledge areas in project
management.
152
Chapter 6. Communication Management,
Leadership, and Project Team
Management
,6.0 Learning Objective and Overview
Learning Objectives
1. Evaluate the importance of good communication in project management
2. Create a communication management plan.
3. Describe the interpersonal and technical skills that project managers need to lead
project teams and manage the projects effectively.
4. Explain the methods of how project managers can cope with conflicts by utilizing
interpersonal skills.
5. List the leadership styles, and define the servant leadership that is favored for
project managers.
6. Explain how project managers can create a culture pertinent to a project.
7. Describe the processes to develop and manage project teams.
8. Describe the virtual project teams that are exponentially utilized worldwide by all
types of organizations, and compare in-person and virtual teams.
6.0 Overview
As highlighted in Chapter 5 “Stakeholder Management”, project managers and their teams spend most
of their time communicating and collaborating with the stakeholders. Indeed, project managers,
themselves, spend 90% of their time communicating. Therefore, most of this chapter addresses the
aspects of communication which is necessary to sustain a healthy relationship with all the stakeholders
besides project team members. In this chapter, we are also focusing on the team management that
elaborates on the relationships between the project manager and other team members as well the
relationships among all team members. Working with people, inside and outside the project team,
involves dealing with them both logically and emotionally. A successful working relationship between
individuals begins with appreciating the importance of emotions and how they relate to personality
types, leadership styles, negotiations, and setting goals.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK
guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
150
, Project Management
6.1 Communications Management
Projects require teamwork, and team members must communicate with each other in a variety of ways.
The documents they produce must be collected, distributed, and stored in an appropriate manner to
assure timely and accurate communication between team members. This process is often assisted by a
variety of technologies including computer and smartphone software programs and applications. The
advent of the Internet accompanied by various ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies),
and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of 2019 accelerated the process of
digitalization for people, and all organizations including the companies, multinational corporates, non-
governmental organizations, governments, and international bodies. Thus, the adoption and spread of
ICTs worldwide across organizations and countries increased exponentially. The utilization of global
virtual teams in organizations increased to unprecedented levels. 94% of the respondents of
CultureWizard’s Global Virtual Work Survey indicated that employees want to continue working from
home—at least part time. More virtual presence has brought about new challenges as detailed in the
“Virtual Teams” section in this chapter.
ICTs can facilitate faster and better communication, or they can become a barrier if they are not well
understood and applied appropriately. Besides, as detailed in Chapter 5, the project manager and the
team should be in ongoing contact with all the stakeholders based on their power and interest levels,
and other factors such as influence, involvement, support required, and interdependencies. This
necessitates the manager to choose an optimal portfolio of communication technologies and
methodologies. Therefore, these issues should be well-thought by the project manager while preparing
the project plan and its subcomponent “Project Communications Management Plan”.
6.1.1 Communication Management Plan
Communications management is about keeping everybody in the loop. The communications planning
process concerns defining the types of information we will deliver, who will receive it, the format for
communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. Hence, it is of high importance to make
sure everybody gets the right message at the right time.
As is the case for all knowledge areas (e.g., scope, schedule, cost, resource, risk, communication,
stakeholder), the first step is to plan so that we can delineate the guidelines that we should follow
during the execution of the project activities, and while we monitor and control them. This provides us a
direction based on the information needs of each stakeholder, available organizational assets, and the
needs of the project. All projects require a sound communication plan, but not all projects will have the
same types of communication or the same methods for collecting, analyzing, and distributing the
information. The communication plan documents the types of information needs the stakeholders have,
151
, Project Management
when the information should be distributed, how the information will be delivered with which
frequency, who will receive it, and the format and technologies we will use to communicate.
First off, we should figure out what kind of communication our stakeholders (including the project
team) need so they can make good decisions and they are well-informed. This is called the
communications requirements analysis. Our project will produce a lot of information, so we don’t want
to overwhelm the stakeholders with all of it. Our job is to figure out what they feel is valuable.
Therefore, the stakeholder power/interest grid (matrix) and the stakeholder engagement assessment
matrix would be very helpful to determine the priorities of each stakeholder, and how we can
communicate with each of them (see Chapter 5), Communicating valuable information doesn’t mean we
always paint a rosy picture. Communications to stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad
news. The point is that we don’t want to bury stakeholders in too much information but we do want to
give them enough so that they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions. ICTs have a major
impact on how we keep people in the loop. Therefore, our analysis and the plan should include them.
We should answer the questions below in our communications management plan:
What are the methods of communicating that we need to consider? Which methods can we
choose to transfer information?
It can take many forms, such as written reports, conversations, email, formal status
reports, meetings, online databases, online schedules, and project websites.
How should we arrange the timing of the information exchange or need for updates? What is
the reporting frequency for each stakeholder according to the expectations and concerns of
stakeholders?
Based on the role and responsibilities of team members, and the interest and power
levels of stakeholders, methods, and frequency should be identified for each
stakeholder.
In “Case Study 5.2” in Chapter 3 which created the stakeholder power/interest grid
for Grocery LLC’s mobile-commerce project, we indicated store managers in the
inspection committee and online customers who are willing to do their shopping
through the mobile app. While we can communicate with these store managers more
frequently (e.g., once a week) by in-person and online meetings, and emails during the
project, we can communicate with the customers less frequently by sending them
updates in a newsletter format every two weeks.
Who is the person responsible for communicating the information? Who authorizes the release
of confidential information? Who receives the information according to their needs,
expectations, and concerns?
Do we need to procure new technology or systems, or are there systems already in place that
will work?
This is also a part of enterprise environmental factors and organizational process
assets to take into consideration while planning any knowledge areas in project
management.
152
