What should a project manager tell his or her management? How do we gain the cooperation of management on our projects? Real-world issues are need to be discussed and Tricks of the Trade are shared among attendees. Here are some recent Tricks of the Trade for this topic.
* Ask what management wants to know about the project and when they want to know it, and then give it to them.
* Check to make sure that management understands what you have sent them.
* Never send a copy of a bar chart unless management knows exactly how it was created. Bar charts are useful project management tools, but turn non-team members off.
* Be brief, be brilliant, and then be gone.
* Be well-prepared for each encounter.
* Before meeting with management, think about what you would want to know if you were in their shoes, and then provide it.
* Make sure they hear it from you to avoid surprises.
* Remember to communicate the results of meetings with management all the way down to the project team and other stakeholders.
* Link meetings to milestones.
* Have standard project reports that are created based on management and project managers’ input.
* Do not delay bad news.
* Always bring options and let management pick an option.
* Ask stakeholders their opinion of the best way to communicate with management.
* Keep the details of project status at a high level.
* Keep communications consistent—provide the same reports at the same time.
* Have a plan for when to escalate issues to your immediate boss’ supervisor.
* Carefully create subject lines in all e-mails so management can quickly see if something is urgent and what the message is really about.
* Do not forget that face-to-face meetings can be more effective under certain circumstances.
* Use pictures, diagrams, or other visual aids to explain problems and issues whenever possible.
* Use bullets and keep it short in all reports.
* Have informal discussions to build rapport.
* Constantly re-evaluate whether management trusts you, and then try to gain more trust.
* Frequently ask what you could do to decrease meetings with management and what you could do to make them more comfortable about project progress.
* Say “no” when it is appropriate.
* Be able to prove that your numbers and other project information provided to management is correct.
* Include management’s needs in the project communications plan.
* Choose your battles.
