Skill 2 – Communication, communication, communication
Communication skills are so important that it's worth repeating! I've repeated it three times because there are three logical parts to communication. Of course, you already communicated plenty when you were a developer.
You wrote emails, spoke on conference calls, and maybe even created reports and presentations and gave pitches.
Your communications have a different mission when you are a manager though. Your communications become less about explaining the logic or business knowledge and more about influencing and conveying visions, ideas, and concepts.
It's important to acknowledge the difference between a factual conversation and an opinion-based conversation that might be based on little or no information. For example, a project management meeting about the allocation of key resources is likely to be highly factual; in contrast, a debate about which candidate to hire may be all about opinion.
As a manager, things are less black and white, and are more various shades of gray. Communication is best explained by grouping it into three different parts:
- Inbound communication
- Internal (within team) communication
- Outbound communication
These focus on the overall communication of the team, which the manager is accountable for. But they also reflect the individual skills the manager should exhibit.
The SIPOC model is a popular method of basic process analysis. It starts with a Supplier, who provides Input, which is then Processed to produce Output, which is consumed by a Customer:
Using the SIPOC model, let's now break down the three key parts of communication: inbound, internal, and outbound.