Connect the dots

Having the ability to manage projects effectively means many things.  It means being able to see “the bigger picture.”  It means being able to understand people and leverage their strengths.  It means being able to bring a vision to fruition step by step. 

Most importantly,  it means seeing the importance of the journey to the destination and connecting the dots in a way that empowers people to accomplish a shared end goal.

These characteristics also define a successful communicator.

At the heart of communications as well as project management is people.  Understanding how individuals think, what they need, how they communicate and what holds meaning to them takes on a life of its own in an effective communications plan. 

The people equation starts with understanding the target audience and the client, similar to a project management plan; but what really makes the difference is managing people in a way that makes them feel a part of the plan’s fabric. 

This is where the marriage of communication skills and project management skills can bring the communications process to the next level.

Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.”  Being able to leverage the strengths of each person on a team allows a manager to inject a level of ownership into a project that can’t be paralleled. 

In a communications role, this dedication and individual enrolment is key to delivering a message with integrity, strength and conviction.  It is this kind of message that has the power to change perception.

In addition to the ability to manage people, communications and project managers share the need to recognize and craft key messages, goals and objectives.  Neither a communications nor a project management plan has direction without the guidance of goals and objectives. 

The project manager, however, goes one step further adding a critical path or Gantt chart to the mix, accompanied by a Work Breakdown Structure.  

Again, this is where the communicator can benefit from the project management process. 

A critical path can bring another layer of support to a communications plan by providing those who are responsible for delivering key messages and rolling out initiatives with a detailed map to follow. This map not only helps the team connect the dots leading to the final stage of the plan, but also maintains motivation.  Project management and communications go hand in hand. 

Project management is a skill that is highly transferable, not only in the world of communications and public relations, but in everything we do.  At its core is the ability to organize, empower people and have vision. 

Forest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

But life is more like “a box of projects,” don’t you think?