Effective communication is the backbone of successful project management. Nothing can build or break confidence more than the way we communicate, both with our clients and with our teams. Understanding and mastering various communication roles and knowing when to use which strategy, can enhance team collaboration and impact overall confidence. Here, we explore five key communication roles: the Expert, the Owner, the Guide, the Consultant, and the Facilitator.
The Expert role is crucial for moving projects forward with informed decisions. In this role, you provide your professional opinion backed by solid reasoning.
For example, if asked, “Why would you choose to build this website using NextJS?” a succinct response might be:
“We chose NextJS for its ability to provide server-side rendering, which improves page load times and enhances SEO. Additionally, its ease of integration with various APIs and extensive community support makes it a reliable choice for our web development needs.”
As an Expert, your goal is to present well-founded, singular opinions that help drive the project in the right direction.
The Owner role is about providing clear, analytical updates without delving into storytelling. This style is particularly effective for status reports. Here’s how to structure your communication as an Owner:
State your objective: “Our objective is to complete the client’s website redesign.”
Provide the current state: “We are currently on track to finish on time and have 70% of the designs completed.”
Name the next steps or timetable: “The next milestone is the final design approval, which is scheduled for next Friday.”
By focusing on these elements, you ensure that your communication is concise and informative, keeping everyone aligned on progress and next steps. This is a no-fluff approach. Leave the “why” out of it.
The Guide role involves setting context and telling stories to provide clarity and direction. This is especially useful when dealing with complex or ambiguous tasks. For instance:
State the situation: “We need to estimate these user stories before the sprint kickoff on Friday.”
State the complication: “There are still some unknowns on several user stories.”
Resolution: “Can the Business Analyst please work with the dev team and possibly the client to resolve these unknowns so we can complete the estimation?”
By framing the situation this way, you help your team understand the broader context and the importance of resolving specific issues, thereby guiding them toward effective solutions. Where the Owner role avoids the use of “Why”, the guide uses “Why” or context to help explain the difficulties and nuance of a tough situation.
Ideally, this is used outside of stand-ups, which are intended to be short and concise.
The Consultant role is about empowering others to take action, making it ideal for client interactions. When presenting options, avoid solving the problem outright. For example:
State the situation: “Our sprint kickoff is at the end of the week, and we need to share our total estimate with the client.”
State the complication: “The estimated effort is higher than we estimated during the sales process.”
Option 1: “We can look for a less complicated solution.”
Option 2: “We could consider cutting out some less important features.”
Option 3: “We could look for additional budget if everything is needed and no changes are possible.”
If asked, you can then provide your recommended resolution. This approach empowers clients and team members to weigh their options and make informed decisions. It leverages the expertise of all parties but gives room for personal opinions and overall collaboration.
The Facilitator role is essential for gaining buy-in from the wider team, especially when dealing with less appealing tasks. Consider this scenario:
Situation: “We need to maintain legacy services for several of our clients.”
Complication: “These services run on an old server that we need to decommission, but moving them requires updating those existing services.”
Ask a question: “How do you think we should handle this situation?”
By posing a question, you invite input and collaboration, which can be particularly effective in overcoming resistance and ensuring team commitment to necessary but less exciting tasks. This is also helpful when your role is identifying issues, but you personally lack the expertise on how to resolve the problem. It is similar to the consultative approach but is more hands-off in providing a solution.
Mastering these five communication roles—Expert, Owner, Guide, Consultant, and Facilitator—can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your communication within the scope of a project. Each role serves a specific purpose and, when used appropriately, can lead to better project outcomes, stronger team collaboration, and more satisfied stakeholders. Try some of these strategies out the next time you find yourself in a situation that requires a nuanced approach to communication.
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