Why IT Managers Should Focus on Improving Communication

Currently, it's a really rough time for managers and senior managers in the Indian IT services industry. On the one hand, they have to balance attrition and client commitments. On the other hand, the role of IT Project Manager itself is questioned so much that they ask themselves “Am I on the right career path? Is my career stable?”.

My advice to those who are stuck with this question or living in a state of confusion is – “Don’t worry. You will be here to stay if you approach IT Project Management like long-term investing". Solid and well performing stocks are able to sail through the ups and downs of the market, just as high-performing IT managers can continue to shine in the current environment. You just need to focus on being a high-performing IT manager.

How can you be a high-performing IT Manager, irrespective of your environmental turbulences? I am planning to write a series of articles on this topic. Stay tuned. This is the first article in the series, which covers verbal communication.

A high-performing IT manager's most important attribute is "Communication". The term communication does not refer to fluency in a language or authority over the language. It's all about the messaging - what you convey and how you convey it.

Stakeholders

As an IT Manager, you are surrounded by the following stakeholders –

1. Team

2. Your boss

3. Senior management/leadership team (i.e. the layers above your boss)

4. Business (or Sales) manager – your organization’s primary point for the client

5. Client

Your success as a manager is largely based on how effectively you communicate with all of your stakeholders. Consider the following scenario: your project is experiencing a problem. Although you need to ensure that the goal of the communication (e.g. issue resolution) is the same, you can't convey the exact same content to everyone. Your content should be tailored for every stakeholder. Being able to do this seamlessly can put you on your way to becoming a high-performing manager.

Example Scenario

I will illustrate this with a simple example. Let us say that the client reported a major bug in the code delivered by your project team. When the team does the bug analysis, it is determined that a variable was incorrectly assigned, causing the code to blow up. Now, what can you communicate to each of your stakeholders?

Communication with the Team

First, you should have an in-depth discussion with your team to determine the root cause(s) of the incorrect variable assignment. Is it an accidental mistake? Is it a lack of competency on the developer's part? How did the issue escape unit testing and system testing? Once the root causes are identified, your communication to the team should revolve around the following –

• Corrective action to be taken for the issue on hand

• Identification of any similar issues and fixes

• Preventive action to avoid such bugs in future

• Friendly advice to the team on the level of attention to be given during unit testing

That’s it. Do not press the panic button (e.g. “if the client knows this, our project is lost") in your communication with the team.

Communication with your Boss

Now you have a clear understanding of the underlying code issue, the corrective and preventive actions. With this knowledge, you can be clear and precise in your communication with your boss. You can be transparent with your boss about the issue. The key point that you need to communicate is about how you are planning to prevent such an issue in the future. It gives him the confidence to let you handle the project and avoids micromanagement from his end.

Communication with Senior Management Team

During escalations, it is natural that you are called in for a meeting by your Senior Management team. Of course, your boss will be part of the meeting and most questions will be directed to him. However, you have to be prepared with supporting data and answers in such a way that you don’t go too technical. Senior management would be more interested in the following questions –

• What is the impact on the client’s business due to the bug? (e.g. if it is a bug related to financial transaction, the client may incur loss or may be required to repay incorrect collection)

• Will the schedule deviation (due to this bug fix) have an effect on the overall project timeline?

• Does the team have a clear roadmap to avoid such escalations in the future?

• What is the impact on the project budget and profitability (due to additional efforts involved in fixing the bug)? If the impact on budget and profitability is beyond permissible limits, what is the recovery path?

• Will this escalation impact the relationship with the client?

• Instead of saying "incorrect variable assignment" to your Senior Management team, emphasize your responsiveness to the situation and your preparedness to reduce financial impact.

Communication with Business/Sales Manager

When communicating with your Business (or Sales) manager, you should focus on how quickly the bug will be fixed and how the project can be brought back on track. You can certainly discuss the financial implications and any assistance that the client can provide in this regard. Even here, you do not have to get into the details of "variable assignment" (since whether it is a variable assignment or memory allocation issue, it is the same from a sales manager's perspective).

Communication with Client

And, last but not least, let us talk about your communication with the client on this issue. It is wise to start the client communication with a positive note such as “the bug has been analysed and the solution has been identified”. There is no need to lie or say anything contrary to reality. However, you ensure a boost in the client's confidence by providing solution-oriented communication. Together (you, your boss, and the business manager), you communicate to the client that the quality assurance process will be strengthened.

Conclusion

I am sure you now have an idea of how to package your message to different stakeholders. This type of communication shows that you are in complete control of the situation as a manager. Does a high performing manager need to be in command? Absolutely yes.