Becoming An Effective Project Leader

A Project Leader (PL) sets the tone at the very beginning of any project. The success of the project falls directly on the PL and it begins with how effective they are as a communicator. There are many techniques that a PL can use to start off on the right foot. The Project Management Communication Model, Berlo’s Model, and the Eleven Communication Skills of Effective Project Leaders will be identified from the PL’s point of view. An effective PL can utilize the Project Management Communication Model to ensure that all participants of the project understand objectives, goals, and speak the same language. It’s important to first understand who all of the participants are and identify any barriers that could create conflict and also identify …show more content…
All participants should have a voice and feel like they can communicate in a non-hostile environment. It’s up to the PL to initiate the communication that will accomplish a good environment. Secondly, the technique in which the PL applies constructive feedback is extremely important. If a PL is not actively listening to the participants it will be hard to build a report where they can take any feedback seriously. It’s key to make eye contact and listen to everything a participant has to say before responding. This shows that their participation is valued. Creating an environment that everyone feels they can participate in is also important to establishing a good environment. The PL should establish rules on day one showing that everyone’s thoughts and contributions matter. Respect is key to establishing a positive environment. There should be neither belittling nor stereotyping. Lastly, a common vocabulary should be established so that there are no language barriers. Acronyms mean different things to different departments or divisions so it’s important to establish definitions …show more content…
This model indicates the relationship between the sender and the receiver, particularly how the message is encoded and decoded. The source comes from the PL (encoding), who displays his/her communication skills via the knowledge that they have about the project and assessing attitudes of the team members. This basically sets up the culture and environment of the project. The most important job the PL has is to establish a positive culture that invites team members to feel like they can participate without any sort of retaliation. How he/she treats the members of the team and how they treat each other directly affects on how the project will operate. The channel involves all of the senses and includes both the sender and the receiver. How the message is sent creates a reaction from the receiving end. If the PL talks and talks and doesn’t allow the receiver to respond or ask questions it’s unlikely the message will be taken well or that confidence in the PL will be developed. It’s possible the division created will not be bridged and the project is doomed from the get go. Good communication skills are needed in order for the receiver to decode the message (Forsberg,