What are the best leadership strategies for Contract Managers to improve communication skills?

Find below some adds to the concept of knowing your audience in communication: Cultural Sensitivity: Understand and respect cultural differences in communication styles, especially in international contract negotiations. Stakeholder Analysis: Conduct a thorough stakeholder analysis to comprehend the interests, influence, and importance of each party involved. Feedback Mechanisms: Implement feedback channels to continuously learn about your audience's changing needs and expectations. Communication Plans: Develop personalized communication strategies for key stakeholders to enhance engagement and understanding. Active Listening Skills: Practice active listening during interactions to better understand the underlying concerns.

Understanding your audience is a fundamental to effectively managing a contract. The terms and conditions do impact on parties entering into the agreement/Contract. It is important to be very clear with your expectations and equally important to have a clear understanding of what the intentions and expectations of the other party is. Clear, concise, timely, and responsive communication is essential. ▪︎ Learning to listen actively and objectively; ▪︎Provide timely responses to questions and issues raised or asked; ▪︎ seek and get clarification if you are unsure. ▪︎ Be mindful of your 'tone' both written and oral. ▪︎ Research and know your audience. It builds your context. Contexts builds a net impression of your audience.

My idea of effective communication is understanding the needs and expectations of the stakeholders.Its a two way road and effective listening will help us to carve out the long term strategy and solution.

Understanding your audience in contract management is crucial for effective communication. You have to tailor your messages differently for legal teams, executives, and operational staff and use clear, concise language for non-legal stakeholders, provide detailed legal insights for legal teams, and focus on strategic impact when communicating with executives. Key points should be emphasized based on the audience's needs and expertise to ensure effective communication and collaboration throughout the contract management process.

En el arte de la comunicación, la clave radica en ser versátil. No se trata solo de lo que decimos, sino de cómo se recibe y comprende. Es como una danza: es crucial adaptar el ritmo, los movimientos y hasta el estilo conforme cambian los compañeros de baile. Una comunicación efectiva se moldea en tiempo real, respondiendo a las señales y necesidades de quienes nos rodean. Entender a nuestra audiencia nos permite ajustar nuestro discurso, creando puentes que conectan ideas y perspectivas de manera más efectiva y auténtica

When we listen twice as much as we talk we understand the others opinion and point of view, finding a mutually acceptable compromise sooner. Simple rule of thumb…we have twice as many ears as mouths, we should use them in the same ratio.

In my experience, most of the staff approach their contract or project manager only when they want someone to listen to their problems or challenges (personal or professional). The best way to respond to them is to listen actively. This can uplift the emotional wellbeing of the person. Active listening helps avoid ambiguities and misunderstandings. It also opens our minds to new ideas and learnings.

Pay attention to non verbal communication at least as much as to the verbal one. Observe actively the counterpart and read the body language, the facial expression and any hint that can enrich the content he/she is expressing. Cultural mediation is essential in this process as the body language ‘code’ varies with the geography and the cultural heritage. This is a key element for international negotiations: without a proper background, body language can be misinterpreted. The adoption of communication media made this essential element less readable, creating a wider gap between the parties

Listen and learn. Listening is also respectful and shows a willingness to participate and collaborate. Remember you have two ears and one mouth 👍

Here's my perspective on the importance of active listening in contract management: Building Trust: This helps establish trust, a crucial element in successful contract negotiations and management. Risk Identification: Through active listening, subtle cues about potential risks or challenges within a contract can be identified early. Conflict Resolution: It serves as a key tool in resolving conflicts by ensuring all parties feel heard and understood. Decision-Making: It provides a deeper understanding, leading to more informed and strategic decision-making in contract-related matters. Enhancing Collaboration: It fosters a collaborative environment where all parties feel valued, encouraging more open and productive discussions.

Open and clear communication is an important skill for contract managers. I have experienced that Contract Managers tend towards using fancy words and sometimes go on to use typical legal jargon without considering the audience. In most cases, the stakeholders are from different backgrounds and have little to no knowledge of legal and contract aspects of the business, therefore, it is important for contract managers to engage stakeholders with clear and concise communication. Yes, the contractual and legal aspect is also important but that should be used only when the audience is purely related to the same field.

As a form of communicating clearly I like to reverse engineer a project when drawing up a contract. Knowing the end goal and determining the phases allows me to help breakdown the details more effectively and determine whether certain tasks are within my scope or if I have to subcontract.

Credibility comes from the clarity. Contract Manager must think win-win and exclude any tricks from the agreement. Contract Manager shall communicate clearly with all internal and external parties to a make successful deals. Unclear communications of course will lead to a very bad results at all stages.

As a legal manager, I recall a pivotal moment when the significance of communication skills became strikingly clear. During a high-stakes negotiation, my adeptness in conveying intricate legal concepts with clarity and precision proved instrumental. This not only fostered a profound understanding with our client but also facilitated constructive dialogue with counterparties. The experience underscored the indispensable role of communication in navigating legal intricacies and cultivating trust, ultimately leading to a successful and mutually beneficial resolution.

Indeed " Clarity and Brevity" are the most important traits to be kept in mind in all contract negotiations by all parties. Times are changing rather in my POV already changed #Postcovidworld.

Feedback will ensure a reduction in blind spots and meeting your clients' requirements. Therefore, actively seek feedback. Feedback sessions significantly increase cross-discipline collaboration outcomes and effectiveness. These feedback sessions should lead to a culture of trust and openness in routine sharing of feedback for the greater good of organisational outcomes.

Effective debriefs should cover both collaboration areas (e.g. quality of information sharing, roles clarity, preparation) and reflecting on lessons learnt. How can we collaborate better next time? What should we continue to do in the future?

There is always a scope of improvement. So it is always good to have feedback. It will help in improving and audience will feel involved.

O ser humano costuma ter dificuldade de aceitar a critica, até mesmo a construtiva, contudo, estar aberto às criticas é o ponto chave para nosso crescimento profissional e pessoal. Essa disposição em aceitar a critica é um grande termômetro da inteligência emocional, que, além de ajudar no desenvolvimento através da internalização adequada do feedback, também ajuda na adaptabilidade. Para ter um feedback mais completo, uma das grandes ferramentas é a avaliação 360, a qual nos traz feedbacks de todas as direções. Nesse sentido, é muito importante ter feedbacks de pessoas que não são ligadas diretamente a você, assim, seu desenvolvimento pode ser mais amplo ao escutar pessoas com as mais diversas interações.

In order to develop your skills being a leader, always seek feedback. In this way, you could assess every situation. What went right? What went wrong? One of the keys on becoming a good leader is to clearly reflect on your actions and then learn from it.

The only certainty is the change, so this is my perspective on the need to adapt and improve contract management: Embrace Change in Contract Dynamics: Adapt to evolving contract terms and stakeholder needs, ensuring flexibility in approach and strategy. Leverage Technology for Efficiency: Incorporate advanced contract management software and tools for streamlined processes and better communication. Feedback-Driven Improvement: Regularly seek and act upon feedback from teams and stakeholders to refine contract management approaches. Cultivate Resilience: Develop the ability to handle unexpected challenges and changes in contract scenarios with composure and strategic thinking.

Desenvolver um bom escopo do contrato, qual a necessidade, quais os parâmetros e as principais métricas que serão utilizadas para medir o sucesso.

For Contract Managers, enhancing communication is key to success. Focus on active listening, clear and concise messaging, and regular updates to ensure all parties are aligned. Investing in these skills leads to effective negotiations, stronger relationships, and a smoother contract management process.

The ultimate fact in the VUCA world that we are leaving is change. And to adopt to this rapid changes one should be opened to accept changes and to learn. If the amount of changes outside you is more than the change adoptability - change - inside you the end is near.

The ability to adapt and improve is a crucial aspect of personal and professional development. In a rapidly changing world, being flexible and open to change is essential. Whether faced with challenges or seeking growth opportunities, those who can adapt demonstrate resilience and a willingness to learn. Improvement comes from a continuous cycle of reflection, feedback, and refinement. Embracing change and actively seeking ways to enhance skills or processes contribute to long-term success. This adaptive mindset not only allows individuals to thrive in dynamic environments but also positions them to navigate uncertainties with confidence and creativity.

Contracts aren't negotiated over email. You can work through some early negotiations but when it comes to the final touches, a phone call, teams meeting, or in person meeting are the cherry on top to really help solidify the contract. Also, contract negotiations seem like you need to be well versed in negotiating tactics. That's not 100% true. The best way to "negotiate" is to go in with why you want/need something to change. Listen to why the other party has it included in the first place. Then find a balance of including both if both are reasonable. Too many people sign contracts thinking these are "Terms and Conditions" like using iCloud where it won't affect you to sign and you have no choice in the matter.

Understand the business - some of the best support leadership I have seen are from individuals rooted and inspired by a good (if not deep) knowledge of business they are supporting as well as other complimentary businesses that have an impact on the direct business that they are supporting. For example, for oil and gas upstream contract managers, it is essential to understand the oil & gas business as well as other complimentary sectors like the logistics, chemicals, commodities, shipping , technology and manufacturing industries. This makes contract managers 10x more effective in delivering support leadership to business.

It is also essential to know each stakeholder on one to one basis. This is possible when besides group communication, individual communication is also established. Many times, people don't express themselves clearly and cogently in a group setting and this situation warrants one to one conversation to get a clear understanding of various viewpoints. While clear communication is desirable on the part of manager, yet individualistic viewpoint is a necessity to understand the issues clearly.

It helps to negotiate in a team whenever possible as introduces multiple perspectives to the situation and increases the odds of finding a hidden solution. Being in a team also means others can monitor your emotions and vice-versa and can step in if things are getting too heated. Being part of a team also allows for better post-negotiation reviews and identifying what went well, what could have gone better, what was the other side actually interested in, etc.

Research and continue to grow your knowledge. You can’t be an effective communicator if your knowledge of the subject is stunted. There are new applications and terminology that changes year by year as well as laws and policy. Stay up to date so that you aren’t communicating outdated or inaccurate information.