A certified project management professional, or PMP, is trained in all aspects of completing a task on-time, and on-budget.
Sometimes, a manager is charged with overseeing multiple projects, and becomes a manger of managers.
The same skills are still needed, but there is an elevated need for communication, both incoming and outgoing, to stay successful at this level.
Incoming communication can best be summed up as reporting.
The lead manager must be able to gather information from each job to stay aware of their progress.
Further, the professional overseeing all the projects must know the capabilities of each of the other managers, because each will have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Reports are a summary of feedback.
The feedback can be technical data, or it can involve interaction with personnel.
Technical data is sometimes easier to set up and track.
This is usually accomplished with machinery or software.
The desired data can be gathered and reported on in a variety of different forms.
Usually some kind of visual data is preferred, which is backed up with actual numeric data.
Getting feedback from people can be very valuable, but somewhat more difficult to obtain.
Regular meetings are one means of getting this type of feedback.
Electronic devices can also assist in getting communication.
Although the feedback is immediate, it can be difficult to capture this type of data and record it.
It is only as useful as the person's memory, at that point.
Written communication should therefore be preferred, and a plan be put in place for correspondence to be done in this manner.
Emails, text messaging, and instant messaging are examples of immediate, written forms of communication.
Outgoing communication originates from the lead manager, and is used as a management tool to achieve the on-time and on-budget goal.
Effective outgoing communication should be written whenever possible for the same reasons as the incoming communications.
A record of communication can be crucial when problems arise.
They can serve as a means of solving the problem, and as a means of preventing future issues from occurring.
Setting benchmarks and measuring achievement toward those standards are important pieces of content to include in outgoing communication.
Problem solving and conflict resolution are other important tasks the lead person must be good at.
Each project starts off with a certain amount of identifiable unknown events.
During the course of each project, an unknown amount of unknown events will also occur.
The latter fact is treated as known quantity, and can be planned for by an experienced professional.
One of the most important tasks of a project management professional is communication.