As a leader working with teams, it is important to understand Communication and Coherence. It is also a must to know how they have an impact on a project’s success. Communication and Coherence will improve People Management. Want to know why and how? Keep reading the first of a series of tips on how to become a better people manager.
An intro first
Some time ago someone asked me:
How do you make your teams have more Communication and Coherence?
I believe that to succeed on this involves many things. But, in my experience, I have found that cultivating these 4 things realy helps:
- Ownership
- Continuity
- Cadence
- Consequence
Ownership
With Ownership, I mean to really be a participant in a project’s process. In other words, committing myself, being a professional, an owner, a master. Or, briefly: to ACTIVELY GET INVOLVED.
We have to understand that if we decide to participate in a project it is to get involved and be aware of the events from beginning to end. It is valid to delegate the work but we always have to soak up WHAT, and more importantly WHY things are being done.
As managers, we have the responsibility to know the status of each initiative. As leaders, to guide and support our teams in them. And, as participants, to clearly communicate the events.
If we do not pay attention more than when there is a problem, are we doing our job? Or, if we stop our necks when it has finished well but we never attended, did we succeed?
Continuity
By Continuity, I mean the punctual follow-up of commitments and agreements. I mean, to have an understanding of the events in time and in a logical way.
The intention of emphasizing continuity is to increase effectiveness. A lot of time is wasted having a meeting where we bring up issues that had already been concluded with agreements and commitments.
However, the importance of continuity falls mostly with people and the importance we give them. This is reflected a lot during the 1-1 when following up on their concerns, requests, problems, or any situation of importance to them.
It should be remembered that the most important thing is the PEOPLE. That, as leaders, our work is to help them become a better version of themselves.
Cadence
I define Cadence as rhythm and constancy. Like, the routine that works for each team. The point is, you have to generate positive routines or habits. It is of utmost importance to define the points of contact, review, and feedback.
An example is asking for status updates every day at the beginning and at the end. Or, maybe every 3 days, or even every week when there are complex tasks. It is important not to fall into micromanagement and saturation. If we do so, we will spend more time reporting than working and we will only generate unnecessary stress.
On the contrary, there is giving a list of tasks and not reappearing until the next visit of the Pope, or to have delegated and trusting blindly without any review until the end of a given project. Well, that is totally disengaging and undoubtedly will cause conflicts.
Each project is different, and the people who work on them are too. That is why it is important to reach common agreements and commitments that we can trust while continuing to follow up.
Consequence
Consequence is any reaction to a given action or situation. Any conclusion must generate at least experience and learning.
In terms of goals and objectives, performance, and deadlines, it is important that SOMETHING happens depending on the outcome. From the recognition (positive) to the call of attention (negative).
However, not everything is about reward or punishment. Being professionals mean doing our work with the expected quality because it is the agreement we reached. But, we must always keep in mind that we can make mistakes and fail. And, you know what? That it is not the end of the world. But, in the end, we must take actions as simple or transcendental as should be.
Summary
All of this requires a lot of coordination, memory, empathy, discipline, etc., etc. Personally, it is around these points where “I have been able” to maintain a certain coherence and effectiveness in the teams.
These are not the only concepts, nor the most important ones such as Empathy and Compassion (which I will talk about in the next post) but they are points that I consider important to always keep in mind.
