PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills (Leadership)

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers! Today you will find out how to be more clear and direct in your communication style, this is step 5 in the IMPACT PMO Mindset. If you haven't listened to episode 000, the Introductory episode or 001, The PMO Reset, 002 Instill Focus, 003 Measure Outcomes, 004 Perform Relentlessly, or 005 Adapt to Thrive, whew - definitely go back and listen to or read those first. Doing so will set the framework for how we landed here, on mindset as the primary step and everything that you need before you can communicate effectively.

Language is Key

The key to communicating with purpose is ensuring that your communication is clear, direct, and drives actions and decisions. For any communication to be effective, we must start by ensuring we are speaking the same language. When you talk to people about the PMO and the IMPACT you’re trying to make with your PMO, make sure you are speaking the language of your stakeholders and using terms that they understand to avoid barriers to communication. Talk about outcomes, IMPACT, return on investment, and the deliverables they're looking for with their projects. We must want to speak the language of our audience. We cannot throw a lot of PM speak at stakeholders which will only cause their eyes to glaze over.  Instead, speak in terms of the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) for the person we are talking to. They need to hear you talk about the “whys” of your PMO, not the “what’s” that won’t make much sense to them anyway.

1. Speak their language

Communicating with purpose means you’ve got to stop talking project management at business leaders and stakeholders. When we start throwing around a lot of PM speak at our stakeholders their eyes glaze over and they feel that you don’t get them, and they don’t get you. Have you ever seen two people that speak different languages try to communicate or solve a problem? It’s extremely challenging and leaves both parties unsure if they are on the same page. When you start talking about the triple constraint, project management process, templates, etc. to the typical non-PM stakeholder, you run the risk that the two of you will not understand each other. You might be losing a critical opportunity to have an effective conversation about your PMO and how it's driving IMPACT because you're getting stuck in by a language barrier and they can't follow along. We need to use language that resonates with them and use terminology that they are familiar with. This means we should stay away from speaking about the mechanics of the processes we are using and instead talk to them about outcomes, IMPACT, and return on investment. The “why” you are doing the PMO in the first place and the “why” they care. Talk about their pain points and get specific on the way they will be able to function and feel when you’ve solved those business problems. We talk to them in their language so that we eliminate communication barriers and stay in sync with our stakeholders.

2. Tie PMO Deliverables to IMPACT

Get stakeholders’ attention by connecting everything you are doing with the PMO to the outcomes they are looking to achieve. That means that you want to be able to tie all the services you're providing directly to an IMPACT that each service is having on the organization. We must build the brand and credibility of the PMO by ensuring that people understand the PMO in terms of how it’s delivering the organizational strategy and solving business problems quickly. Instead of saying that you are building metrics and dashboards, talk about the outcome you are creating, better transparency to drive educated and informed decision-making. Instead of saying that you are creating standards and process, talk about how you are creating greater predictability and reliability so that leaders can more effectively plan for IMPACT and business transformation.