had questions, concerns, or suggestions. "I feel really fortunate to have someone with your experience on the team, Corinna," Vickie said as they parted.
Vickie knew that this was just the start of the dialogue with her test lead, but felt that she had begun catching up on her duties, maintaining communication paths and relationships with her team members. When she returned to her office, she added an action item to schedule lunch with Corinna at the restaurant they had discussed. Then she looked at her team roster and identified people she had not shared coffee or a meal with during the past month. She blocked early mornings on her calendar for the next two weeks and began sending email invitations to schedule coffee or breakfast, thinking to herself, "A gardener's work is never done."
How do you keep communication paths open? What advice can you give to new project managers?
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About the author
Payson Hall is a consulting project manager for Catalysis Group, Inc. in Sacramento, California. Payson consults on project management issues and teaches project management. Email Payson at payson@catalysisgroup.com. Follow him on twitter at @paysonhall.
