ClearPM

I don't know about you, but I don't speak with every stakeholder or team member every day.  In fact, some are so far on the periphery of the project that I don't have any reason to speak to them for weeks at a time.  Sure, I see them in meetings occasionally.  (Actually, "see" is a misnomer since I manage my projects remotely and almost all my meetings are virtual.)  But the point is, I don't always have the opportunity to communicate with every team member or stakeholder as often as I'd like.

This is a problem for me for two reasons.

1.  There's a good possibility that the team members or stakeholders that I'm not talking to have information that can benefit the project.  As the project progresses, we focus on the areas that need the most attention and tend to neglect those that are doing OK or are simply not active at the time.  The problem is that if a person is not involved or active on the project, they might not be aware of the current status or problems we're facing.  If I don't talk to the people I won't get any information they have that might be able to help resolve open issues.

2.  The longer I go without speaking to this person, even if it's justifiable, then

• the person feels less a part of the team
• the person becomes less willing to participate when their input is needed
• the more likely it is that the person gets significantly involved in other tasks outside my project limiting their availability to support my project

To help address this problem of lack of communication, I'm making a conscious effort to speak with someone each day who I don't normally come into contact with during meetings or other conversations.  For many project managers, this probably doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it is to me.  Striking up a conversation with anyone goes against my natural introvert (for you MBTI-ers, I'm an INFJ) so this is well outside of my comfort zone.  I have to make a focused, dedicated effort to be successful at this.

I started down the path of making a focused, dedicated effort by creating a list of questions that I can use to get the conversation started and try to develop an ongoing relationship with these "outliers."  These are probably not the most insightful questions you've ever seen, but they were not intended to be brilliant.  The intention is simply to get the conversation started and find some way to build a relationship.  As the conversation develops and the relationship grows, we'll find common ground for more in-depth interaction.  Note also that I don't plan to ask every question every time I talk to someone.  I might only need one to get the ball rolling.  And I'll need to use my own judgement to determine which questions are best suited to the particular person's situation.

You can read my initial list of conversation starter questions and download them to help create your own list if you like.  What other questions might you add to the list?  What other methods have you used to build connections to team members or stakeholders who are not regular parts of your project?