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Lost in Translation: Top 4 Project Management Tips

By Niki Hammond

George Bernard Shaw once said, “America and Britain are two countries separated by a common language.” As an American married to a Brit, I can personally attest to the truth of this statement. Minor differences in culture can create a language barrier even when we think we’re using the same language.

While our countries of origin create a bit of a cultural gap, an even bigger one is created by the fact that I am a project manager, and he is a network engineer. I know enough to understand and sometimes even contribute to fairly technical conversations at work, but he can completely lose me just casually telling me about his day. Even though we use a lot of the same jargon, sometimes it feels like we’re having two different conversations.

Cross-functional project teams deal with this problem constantly. Back in my programming days, I couldn’t count how many times I had to explain to a boss or client that having “reusable code” doesn’t mean that the next five features they think of will just pop into existence. As a project manager today, getting an answer to the simple question, “How long is this going to take?” without sitting through two hours of technical minutiae can be an exercise in futility. According to the Project Management Institute, project managers spend about 90 percent of their time communicating. Effective, efficient communication is perhaps the most important skill a project manager can possess.

Despite our different backgrounds and occasionally conflicting priorities, my husband and I have an enormous amount of respect for one another. Whether at home or in the office, when it comes to communication barriers, patience and mutual respect are like a truckload of C-4.

When you find yourself feeling like someone’s being difficult, or just not “getting it,” here are four simple steps you can take to ease the pain and get to the point:

1. Be clear on the goal of the conversation. The first step in getting on the same track with someone is agreeing on the destination. Sometimes this step alone is enough to bring a difficult conversation to an agreeable close. Get into the habit of prefacing a question with what you intend to do with the answer to avoid misinterpretation.

The question, “Will this be ready on Friday?” can mean lots of different things. Here are two ways to put it that would help the person answering give a more accurate response:

“The client is really anxious to see a demo of the new conference registration software. I’d love to be able to tell them they can preview it before the weekend, assuming it’s relatively stable. Will it be ready on Friday?”

“The client needs to start using this software to register attendees for their conference this weekend. Will it be ready by Friday?”

Each implies different priorities, and requires a different type of evaluation from the programmer. What does “ready” mean? Should it be fully tested and ready for prime time, or just complete enough for a proof of concept? Without that additional context, the answer would be loaded with assumptions, and the conversation may turn long and tedious.

2. Accept that you don’t necessarily know more things, you just know different things. If you think of yourself as “more knowledgeable” than the person you’re speaking with, regardless of the topic, it will likely come through in your tone. That may be fine for a professor lecturing students, but if you’re working on a project team you must remember that each player brings something to the table. Further, if you believe you must be right because you’re smarter and more experienced than the person you’re talking to, it becomes impossible to make any sort of compromise without damaging your own ego.

3. Verbally acknowledge that difference. Poor communication can make a conversation seem adversarial even when it’s not. Acknowledgment of another person’s expertise says, “I see things differently, but I realize your view is valid, and I want us to understand each other.” It also enables you to retain “expert” status in your own area without infringing on anyone else. You can always find an area to which the other person is more suited than you, even if you have to be generic.

Say to a programmer: “You’re obviously more familiar with the code than I am.”

To a client: “No one knows more about your business than you do.”

To a project sponsor: “It’s your strategic vision that’s guiding this work.”

Then follow it up with, “To (solve this problem/come to an agreement) I want you to help me understand more about your perspective, and in turn I’ll try to explain my view to you so we can figure this out together.”

4. Maintain this frame of mind. This is the most challenging part. It’s easy to start off on the right foot and then fall right back into old habits, especially if there’s one particular person or group you find difficult to deal with. Don’t look at the above as mere lip service, but as a state of mind that will make your job and your life easier.

If you use this strategy consistently throughout your communications and throughout the project, you’ll find it easier and easier to have productive conversations with just about anyone. Even my husband.