Good Communication Quotes

1. "The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said." - Peter Drucker
2. "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." - George Bernard Shaw
3."Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people." - William Butler Yeats
4. "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." - Epictetus

5. "Speak when you are angry -- and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret." - Laurence Peters
6. "In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do." - Stephen Covey
7. "The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them." - Stephen King
8. "Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language." - Walt Disney
9. "Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
10. "The two words information and communication are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through." - Sydney Harris

11. "Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." - Rollo May
12. "Humor is the affectionate communication of insight." - Leo Rosten
13. "Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break." - Earl Wilson
14. "Communication is everyone's panacea for everything." - Tom Peters
15. "Two monologues do not make a dialogue." - Jeff Daly
16. "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato
17. "Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot." - D.H. Lawrence
18. "Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn't listening." - Emma Thompson
19. "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." - Ernest Hemingway
20. "You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time." - Scott Peck
21. "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." - Mark Twain
22. "That which we are capable of feeling, we are capable of saying." - Cervantes
23. "I have an answering machine in my car. It says, 'I'm home right now. But leave a message and I'll call you when I'm out.'" - Steven Wright
24. "Give me the gift of a listening heart." - King Solomon

How to Build Influence as a Project Manager

Successful project managers require support from their teams. However, this support cannot be delegated or simply wished into existence. Acquiring the authority to effectively lead a team demands a specific approach.

A project leader must be humble at times and assertive in others, and know when to take charge of a situation and when to delegate roles to members of his or her team.

A big part of succeeding at that is in effectively building influence, often with team members who are not direct employees of the project manager.

Many fail to understand this aspect and walk into project management assuming the role of infallible leader, often inspiring heavy resistance and strained accomplishments.

The guidelines below represent how to properly build influence and establish the authority of a project manager. These are ongoing practices that should organize how instructions and interactions with team members should take place at all times.

Know Where to Partition Labour

Understanding when to delegate authority is an important aspect of leadership. By knowing a team's strengths and weaknesses, a project manager will be able to pass along tasks and decisions for the team members and improve overall efficiency. By doling out responsibility, not only is time saved but everyone on the team becomes more productive.

When delegating, it's important to understand exactly when and to whom power can be entrusted. Not everyone is cut out for a management role, and some are much happier with strict oversight rather than free reign.

Just because a person is excellent at sales, for instance, doesn't mean he or she can manage. And, if a project manager doesn’t keep a careful eye on the individual, the project can lose significant ground. The delayed processes of the sales cycle may not display issues for up to a year or more, resulting in an expanse of lost time, resources and opportunity.

In order to avoid mistaken delegation, try assigning small tasks at first. Have the individual develop a plan, send him or her to do the work, and then evaluate the performance along the way. As the individual improves, increase the task load and/or the complexity of each assignment.

Delegating work will ease the overall burden, but it will also encourage those within the team to work toward a valued end goal and put their trust in the project manager.

Manage by Example

The moment a project manager acts in contrast to his or her own advice is the moment that they lose all credibility. Project managers who truly want the team to respect them and subscribe to their suggestions, must wholeheartedly support their own decisions and back them up with actions.

The most effective way to earn authority is to be a project leader that others want to follow. Be on time. Be kind and considerate. Be efficient with tasks. Be organized. Be fair with others. Set an example for others to follow.

Organise Communication

Communication will always be one of the most vital qualities for effective project management. Developing relationships with team members is critical, and project managers should work to exhibit their true personalities and gain the trust of all coworkers. Effective communication can never be achieved through short emails, incessant demands, or brief interactions; relationships are slowly developed through consistent interaction and honest behavior.

Poor communication has the ability to devastate a project. When NASA lost its Mars orbiter, it was due to the fact that two teams had failed to communicate on the project. One team built the device to metric specifications and the other used inches. This might be an extreme example, but effective communication could have easily solved this $327 million blunder.

When communicating, a project manager should not just assume the role of talker. It is absolutely critical to listen to all team members. Listen, learn and earn the team's respect by valuing members’ input and giving credit where it's due. This will help alleviate any resentment and facilitate collaboration among the group.

Practice Self-Maintenance

Self-maintenance encompasses everything from furthering project management education to working on health. For a project manager to gain respect and enhance authority, he or she must have the knowledge and the capacity to be a true leader. If a team sees its leader as ill-informed, it will be less likely to trust the leader’s judgment. If a project manager cannot perform, the team will be uninspired.

There are incredible resources that can be accessed by enrolling in Web seminars, attending classes or joining a local Project Management Institute chapter. These resources will not only make a project manager’s job easier, but will help the PM to demonstrate their competence to those on the team.

The matter of health may seem a bit trivial but it can be surprisingly important. In 2007, an article in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine titled “Health and Productivity as a Business Strategy” reported that health-related productivity costs were more than four times the costs of treating those health problems. In other words, taking the time to ensure good health can have enormous benefits for the workplace.

Establish Morals

In the end, all anyone has is their honor; project managers should never let themselves be corrupted by feelings of entitlement. To be a great leader, it is important to acknowledge principles and stick to them. Project managers with strong convictions will be respected by others and can feel pleased with what they have accomplished. Good project managers need to believe in themselves, believe in others and believe in their actions. Even if mistakes are made, the project manager can be satisfied with the fact that he or she made those mistakes with the right intentions.
As a project manager, it can be difficult to organize a team. However, accepting these practices can greatly improve any team’s effectiveness. Always remember that a project manager is not in charge of everyone on the team, but rather is a team leader who can either direct a project to success or confront difficulties at every stage. The simple process of being respectful and fair in all decisions can easily keep every member of the team on the same page.

These practices should make it easier for project managers to complete their projects on time and up to quality. If nothing else, they can leave work content, knowing that they have done the job as well as it could have been done.

Globalisation - Simplified

Promote clear rules. Define which decisions are global versus which can be made locally.

Structure for agility. You can't really do a lot of anticipating in emerging markets. Instead, make change management a core competency.

Establish global and local processes for funding innovation. Maintain a formal process for getting new ideas approved and nurture a local entrepreneurial culture in developing locales.

Globalise strategic roles. Make resources such as IT architecture, financial management, vendor management and security available to new markets via a shared services model. Use IT processes to connect global capabilities with local needs.

Embrace emerging technologies. New technologies and processes like SOA and collaboration tools will enable increased integration and agility.

Communicate well and often. Messages from IT, when delivered consistently, help to create and maintain trust with a diverse set of stakeholders. Match these continuing communication efforts to listeners' needs.