Tag Archives: business

Why Every Project Manager Should Think Like a Communicator

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When we think about project management, we often picture schedules, budgets, methodologies, and scope. When we think about communication, we often picture presentations, branding, and media.

A few years ago, I also saw them as two separate disciplines. That perspective changed over the past year as I transitioned my career into Corporate Communication while pursuing my PMP at the same time.

At first, I thought I was stepping away from project management when I moved from Digital Engineering to Corporate Communication. Instead, I discovered that communication is a fundamental part of project management.

Earning my PMP also reinforced my understanding that project management is not only about process, but also about people and business environment. Communication is the thread that connects all three. Because at the end it is about how project stakeholders make good decisions together.

In project delivery, misaligned expectations lead to scope creep. Delayed decisions become schedule delays. Unclear roles and responsibilities create execution issues. Poor stakeholder engagement results in resistance to change and project outcomes. That’s why communication is one of the key drivers of project success.

The PMBOK put communication as one of the core knowledge areas in project management, highlighting its importance in planning, executing, and delivering successful projects. Besides my experience and PMBOK, I also read several books that influence my perspective on why every project manager should think like communicator. These books are Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg, Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, and Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. Each of these books got different approaches to see communication.

source: http://www.gapingvoid.com

Facts Alone Rarely Change Minds

As someone who got background in engineering, we often assume that presenting the right data will naturally lead people to the right decision. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman challenges this assumption. People don’t evaluate information purely rationally. Most of us rely on mental shortcuts, we are influenced by framing, and can interpret same information differently depending on our experiences and expectations. This is also something that I experienced while working in communication.

The example in project management, we usually have different project update report for the team, the client and high level management. Although the facts remain the same, the priorities and concern for each stakeholders are different. That’s why we need to tailor these information for different stakeholders. We tailor the information the way we want them to perceive the information. Because at the end, project managers are not communicating with spreadsheets, they’re communicating with people.

Every Stakeholder Needs a Different Conversation

One of the ideas that resonated most with me from Charles Duhigg’s Supercommunicators is that not every conversation serves the same purpose. Some conversations are practical. Some are emotional. Others are about identity, trust, or belonging. Project managers frequently overlook this distinction.

An engineer may want technical certainty. An executive may want strategic implications. A client may want certainty about their project. A regulator may want compliance. The public may simply want reassurance.

One project. Multiple stakeholders. Multiple conversations. A project manager should really understand about this. Before they convey any information, they have to understand their stakeholder needs first. Because the mistake isn’t giving the wrong answer. It’s answering the right question for the wrong audience.

Every Project Manager is Also a Negotiator

Reading Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss made me realize that project managers negotiate far more often than they realize. Negotiation isn’t limited to contracts, vendors, or subcontractors. We negotiate deadlines, resources, scope, priorities, client expectations, and even internal alignment. Whenever stakeholders have competing priorities, project managers are already negotiating.

Negotiation itself is a part of communication. The best project managers don’t simply persuade people. They listen carefully, understand other interests, and create alignment without forcing agreement. Strong communication creates trust, while effective negotiation helps transform that trust into decisions. Project management involves continuous negotiation throughout project lifecycle.

Of course, project negotiations don’t always end with a perfect win-win solution. Limited budgets, tight schedules, and competing priorities often require compromise instead. A successful negotiation isn’t about everyone getting exactly what they want; it’s about finding a balanced outcome where stakeholders understand the trade-offs and remain committed to the project’s objectives.

Leadership is Built on Trust

Simon Sinek writes in Leaders Eat Last that people perform at their best when they feel safe and trust those around them. In project management, that sense of safety is created largely through communication. The way project managers listen, respond to concerns, share information, and handle difficult conversations determines whether team members feel comfortable speaking up or choose to remain silent.

When communication fosters psychological safety, project teams raise risks earlier instead of hiding them. Trust doesn’t eliminate project problems, but it enables teams to solve them before they become crises.

Hence, communication is more than keeping everyone informed, it’s how project leaders build trust. And as Sinek reminds us, high performing teams are built not only through technical expertise, but through environments where people feel heard, respected, and safe enough to contribute their best work.

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Looking back, my year in Corporate Communication didn’t take me away from project management, instead it expanded my perspective on it. Engineering taught me how projects are designed and planned. PMP provided the framework for managing and delivering them. Communication showed me how projects actually move forward: through people. The best project managers aren’t simply experts in planning; they create alignment, build trust, influence decisions, and turn complexity into clarity.

At the end, projects succeed not only because of technical excellence or well-defined processes, but because people understand one another, make decisions together, and stay aligned toward a common goal.

Perhaps that’s why every project manager should think like a communicator.

Understanding Project Management Through LEGO

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A few days ago, I stumbled upon PMBOK guide (again) when preparing some presentation, which showcasing the 10 knowledge areas of project management. There are two things in my mind when I looked at them: first, these 10 knowledge areas represent what project managers do on a daily basis to keep their projects running smoothly; and second, how to explain them to people who are not familiar with project management.

Well, not long after that, I had an interesting discussion with my friend’s 4-year-old son, who asked me about the construction staging of the Jeddah Tower (soon to be the tallest skyscraper in the world). It’s really interesting how kids these days are so knowledgeable and curious. After our chat, while checking my presentation in the car, my mind went back to the PMBOK Knowledge Areas. I wondered: how can we explain this to people in a way that’s easy to understand? Then I thought of my niece and nephew. We’re all huge LEGO fans and often build simple LEGO sets together. I suddenly realized that we can think of a project like building a LEGO set, and apply the 10 PMBOK Knowledge Areas to complete it. There are 10 knowledge areas in PMBOK: Integration Management, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Resource Management, Communication Management, Risk management, Procurement Management, and Stakeholder Management.

Project Management 10 Knowledge Areas (PMBOK)

1. Integration Management is the master plan, for example if we want to build this LEGO Pet Shop set we need to make sure we finish the whole set as required. Integration management is about making sure we achieve our project goals, everything must work as on one big plan from scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, team and even if there are any changes.

LEGO Pet Shop Set (credit: lego.com)

2. Scope Management is about making sure that the set is built exactly as required, not less and nothing extra. It is about the art of defining and controlling the scope of works. For example for this set, there will be two buildings in the set: the pet shop (the blue one) and the house (brown one). scope Management is making sure we delivered the right number of buildings and right number of bricks as well. In LEGO set usually there is the number of bricks at the end of the manual book, in real project we have the bill of quantity.

Two Building in The Set (credit: lego.com)

3. Schedule Management is about making plan and milestone of the project. This is one of my favorite part in the project management. Before working with BIM, I work with scheduling a lot. Schedule management is simply about managing which part that need to be finished first, some works can be finished independently, some need predecessor. For example, we want to finish the house first before the pet shop, so we’re setting a milestone. In building the house, there are 3 level, we need to finish the 1st floor before the 2nd floor and roof floor. The 1st floor is predecessor for the 2nd floor that we need to finish first. The main goal of schedule management is making sure that we deliver the project on time.

The 1st Level of Each Building (credit: lego.com)

4. Cost Management is where we make sure that the project stays within the budget from the beginning until finish . It is about planning how much money (or bricks in term of LEGO) the project is required to finish. Usually at the beginning, it means estimating total cost and budget. During the construction it means controlling and tracking our spending so we don’t run out of money (or bricks).

5. Quality Management is about making sure the project (or the LEGO set) built well and meet the agreed standards. We need to make sure not only the looks or finishing, but also the structure is strong and reliable. During the construction for example, we need to check if the pieces click correctly and is not falling apart. In a real project usually we have this kind of quality target for each work that we need to achieve, usually it is defined at the beginning and later during the project delivery we need to monitor our work to achieve the target.

6. Resource Management is about having the right people, tools and number of bricks to finish the project. For example if I work with my niece and nephew, me as the project manager will decide who builds which part. Also we need to make sure that we have enough bricks to build the set. The whole point of resources management is keeping everyone working smoothly while making sure no one runs out the bricks they need.

7. Communication Management is about making sure everyone understand how the finished set should look, which means everyone know what’s done and what’s next. It also means clear instruction for all stakeholder and avoiding confusion so no one builds the wrong part.

8. Risk Management means thinking ahead about what could go wrong with the project, it’s like losing LEGO bricks or the building collapse. Risk management is about making a plan how to avoid or mitigate these potential problem (also how to fix them quickly it happens) so the project stays on track.

9. Procurement Management is simply about getting anything what the project needs from the suppliers and making sure it arrives on time within the budget. It means getting the right LEGO set from the store or online.

LEGO Bricks (credit: lego.com)

10. Stakeholder Management is about understanding who cares about our LEGO project and their expectation. What we need to do is keeping them happy and informed during the project delivery.

In the end, building a LEGO set with my niece and nephew felt just like running a project. And if we look closer, each of the 10 PMBOK knowledge areas showed up too. Because we decided what to build, followed the steps (from the manual), stayed on budget (number of bricks), mitigated risks (like missing pieces or a building collapse), and kept everyone excited from start to finish. Using this LEGO example makes the 10 PMBOK knowledge areas and project management as a whole quite easy to understand.