¿Cuáles son los errores más comunes al comunicar el estado del programa?

A quick tip! Being consistent when you are driving a portfolio of programs can be challenging! Leverage on automation, database queries, and custom crafted LLM that help you sound like you. In this manner, you could for example use tools like Power Automate to consistently communicate information about your different program status without skipping a beat while observing your communication style. Before launching into production any of these tools… test, test, and test! The last thing you want is to set an automatic tool that is delivering the wrong status, to the wrong stakeholder, with the wrong cadence!

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all hard wired to expect “bad news” and also hard wired to not want to give “bad news”! In any kind of professional setting it’s important to do away with the hard wired ego though, and to just give the news unbiased as it pertains to the situation at hand. No one is going to fault you for being honest (even if it’s not what they want to hear), but they will fault you 💯 for telling anything other than the truth.

It is essential to remove unnecessary 'noise' from program status reports to maintain focus. However, it's crucial to avoid steering the program in a specific direction under pressure from a particular sponsor or unit. I have observed program managers struggle when their status reports resemble more of a 'wish list' on how the program should appear at a given point in time, rather than providing an accurate picture of the actual status. When addressing setbacks, clearly communicate them, outlining effective mitigation actions. Equally important is the clear articulation of any support needed from different teams to address the issues effectively.

I have seen program managers with amazing updates about their projects/programs but lacking of passion to convey purposefully their messages! Delivering a status to your leadership team shouldn’t be taken as an unrehearsed experience. Even more if English is not your first language!!! Practice, curate your words, pronunciations, and your storytelling! Once, I started a program update with a rhetorical question and on top of that I built my storytelling to deliver an update. As a result, the information was landed effectively with a long-lasting effect! Be wise how you merge these two techniques and whichever you choose always remember to season your storytelling with ENERGY!

While AI has offered valuable insights on the subject, I'd like to contribute my perspective on top of it. The question is, why confine ourselves to routine status updates and risk making mistakes? I advocate for steering clear of such limitations and instead, urging stakeholders to access the information radiator. Whether it's a tool-generated display or a visual representation on the whiteboard near your workspace. Adjustments to details may be necessary based on various stakeholder expectations, but with time, these processes will mature and fulfill their intended purpose. This not only improves communication efficiency but also ensures everyone is in sync with the principles of agile ways of working.