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Many aspects of life rely on communication. School, parenting, relationships, sport, politics, social and business are just a few. The trouble is, when communication is performed poorly or not at all in any of these areas, people and results suffer.
Programme Management is the same and although we use best practice techniques to manage risk, etc, communication is more about understanding people than understanding a best practice. The guidelines set out by various organisations such as the UK OGC, are useful references, but those guidelines can only become effective when they are applied by a Programme Manager who understands the human element of communication. A Programme Manager who understands people.
A Programme is often in greater need for effective communication because it is often a one-off initiative. This is highlighted in The Gower Book of Programme Management and it goes on to say that a programme will not always enjoy the luxury of a regular collection of disciplines and management structures.
Often people focus on certain areas of managing a programme. The outcome is that assets like the Communications Plan drift into the background as other matters take priority. Furthermore, many people do not appreciate the real benefits of a Communications Plan.
A Programme Communications Plan must be viewed as a strategic tool and a dynamic document. Not a static document with a few blanks to be filled in. When the plan is created with a casual approach, the Programme Manager concerned will often communicate on the fly - instead of according to plan. The result can be a mediocre and hurried effort which only serves to achieve less than satisfactory results. You can compare this to a Project Manager creating a project plan and not using it! Both are recipes for failure.
The Communications Plan can be powerful tool in the right hands. It can be used to build relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, which means it should become a high priority. Stakeholders should be well informed so that when the programme runs into the inevitable challenges, the well informed stakeholders with whom we have already built relationships, are far more likely to support us in our hour of need. We are more likely to gain support from well informed stakeholders who we have built relationships with than from those who are strangers. And the better our relationships, the less likely we are to encounter problems.
At the most basic level, the failure to follow a good Communications Plan will often result in complaints such as; "I don't understand", "you didn't tell me" and "where did this come from". Treat the Communications Plan as a dynamic tool that can be used to foster relationships and promote your programme. To do this it needs to be a living breathing high priority document which is both implemented and kept up to date.
In his best seller, '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' Stephen Covey?s 5th Habit is about the principles of empathic communication and he describes communication as the most important skill in life. He writes, "if I were to summarise in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: seek first to understand, then to be understood". This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication".
In Robert Bolton's book, 'People Skills', he writes; "communication skills alone are insufficient - the person who has mastered the skills of communication but lacks genuineness, love and empathy will find his expertise irrelevant or even harmful".
Whether we are managing internal or external programme communications, a Communications Plan in the hands of a Programme Manager who neglects the art of emphatic communication is like a baton (stick) in the hands of a tone-deaf conductor. The Communications Plan alone gets you a tick in the box, but its overal purpose can be ineffective.
Programme Management is the same and although we use best practice techniques to manage risk, etc, communication is more about understanding people than understanding a best practice. The guidelines set out by various organisations such as the UK OGC, are useful references, but those guidelines can only become effective when they are applied by a Programme Manager who understands the human element of communication. A Programme Manager who understands people.
A Programme is often in greater need for effective communication because it is often a one-off initiative. This is highlighted in The Gower Book of Programme Management and it goes on to say that a programme will not always enjoy the luxury of a regular collection of disciplines and management structures.
Often people focus on certain areas of managing a programme. The outcome is that assets like the Communications Plan drift into the background as other matters take priority. Furthermore, many people do not appreciate the real benefits of a Communications Plan.
A Programme Communications Plan must be viewed as a strategic tool and a dynamic document. Not a static document with a few blanks to be filled in. When the plan is created with a casual approach, the Programme Manager concerned will often communicate on the fly - instead of according to plan. The result can be a mediocre and hurried effort which only serves to achieve less than satisfactory results. You can compare this to a Project Manager creating a project plan and not using it! Both are recipes for failure.
The Communications Plan can be powerful tool in the right hands. It can be used to build relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, which means it should become a high priority. Stakeholders should be well informed so that when the programme runs into the inevitable challenges, the well informed stakeholders with whom we have already built relationships, are far more likely to support us in our hour of need. We are more likely to gain support from well informed stakeholders who we have built relationships with than from those who are strangers. And the better our relationships, the less likely we are to encounter problems.
At the most basic level, the failure to follow a good Communications Plan will often result in complaints such as; "I don't understand", "you didn't tell me" and "where did this come from". Treat the Communications Plan as a dynamic tool that can be used to foster relationships and promote your programme. To do this it needs to be a living breathing high priority document which is both implemented and kept up to date.
In his best seller, '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' Stephen Covey?s 5th Habit is about the principles of empathic communication and he describes communication as the most important skill in life. He writes, "if I were to summarise in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: seek first to understand, then to be understood". This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication".
In Robert Bolton's book, 'People Skills', he writes; "communication skills alone are insufficient - the person who has mastered the skills of communication but lacks genuineness, love and empathy will find his expertise irrelevant or even harmful".
Whether we are managing internal or external programme communications, a Communications Plan in the hands of a Programme Manager who neglects the art of emphatic communication is like a baton (stick) in the hands of a tone-deaf conductor. The Communications Plan alone gets you a tick in the box, but its overal purpose can be ineffective.
About the Author:
Rob Llewellyn is an independent programme management consultant helping governments and leading organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Visit his web site to read more articles about project and programme management at www.llewellyn-group.com
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