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Managing People & Projects Through Communication

We lead and interact with students, clients, employees, and colleagues on many levels. A lot of these interactions are rooted in teamwork, group projects, strategic planning, event coordinating, supervision, service, advising, educating, and much more with plenty of moving parts. One of the moving parts is communication. Communication is a staple that holds these groups and relationships together, taking shape in different forms.

Exercises and training in communications are not particularly new. It is an ever-evolving practice that equips us with learning different styles, nuances, and scenarios; which include conveying information and listening. The skills of communication work both internally and externally, and can always be sharpened to help us with our challenges, triumphs, and growth.

This week’s Wisdom Café Wednesday invites its readers to reflect on a project, initiative, or focus that is in their core area of expertise and responsibility; and place themselves in the driver’s seat of communicating its desired outcomes. Our projects have so many moving parts and a lot takes place behind the scenes until we reach a milestone of presenting our work to our audience. How we communicate our message reflects the hard work and labor that led to reaching the milestones we celebrate.

Communication training can be a powerful way to lay the groundwork for setting expectations for each other. As we work remotely and hybrid, our teams have different styles that have worked for them, and others that they have adopted along the way. What if we got to use training as a quick and easy professional development exercise, and apply it to team expectations of each other?

The following e-course for remote learners is available to view. Staying Connected and Communicating as a Team is a rapid 4-minute instruction that outlines parameters for using impersonal, personal, and group communications. This can serve as an ice breaker and a team pulse check on how communication works for you, and what you might need to help address any gaps.

Note: Berkeley People & Culture also offers communication courses as part of the Berkeley People Management Series. Please refer to the UC Learning Center to search and register for the next offerings soon.

BPM 104 Communicating Goals, Objectives & Key Results
BPM 202 Communicating with Impact

Frequent readers follow the weekly themes of Wisdom Café Wednesday with a LinkedIn Learning e-course that fits with the topic. This week we are taking a new approach. Since communication training is relatively common and we take e-courses asynchronously, this week you are invited to a live event hosted via LinkedIn. Content author Jessica Chen, Founder and CEO of Soulcast Media, has a LinkedIn Learning presence on e-courses related to speaking, media relations, cultural empowerment, and external relations.

She is scheduled to host a live event on LinkedIn entitled The Art of People Management, Thu, Mar 2, 2023, 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST via LinkedIn Video.

This live stream event covers her conversation with Angela Cheng-Cimini, Senior VP, Talent & Chief HR Officer at Harvard Business Publishing on learning to effectively manage your team through strategic communications skills.

They will be discussing:

- How to effectively manage your team
- Strategically communicate with your team
- How to get the best out of your team

Please RSVP on LinkedIn and the SoulCast website here to join the event.

Wisdom Café Wednesday invites you to join this event and engage live with other participants from around the world, helping break us apply communication techniques to our team dynamics.

Wisdom Café Wednesday Featured Communication Approaches in Times of Change

Involving Your Team to Feel Like Part of a Change Process

The first impressions of change come from the unknown and imagining scenarios for what we might do next. This results in asking a lot of “what if?” or “what does that look like?” type of questions. A more uplifting way of thinking is speaking from the perspective of the future and how your team is a part of activating impact through the change. As a leader, this is a way to share your vision and its success factors based on the teams you lead.

Tailoring Your Websites to a Niche Audience

One streamlined way that communication can be a catch-all is the way we design our websites. Afterall this is where the bulk of our reference points, basic information, resources, and stories lie. Think about the many stakeholders that you serve and interact with, are they all likely to interpret the information in the same way? Segmenting communication between audiences is a balance between being consistent and relevant, and this is why our communication skills are periodically sharpened.

Treating Your Communication Like it’s a Campaign

While communicating may seem redundant at times, the moving parts behind the goals we want to accomplish require a combination of reminders, updates on new milestones, and new information that we want our audience to absorb, process, and use. Furthermore, when communication goes out in batches, our audiences (including colleagues) are likely to take these reminders as a sign of your hard work and goal accomplishment to bring your visions to light.

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How to Share Your Insight on Wisdom Cafe

Discover the benefits of sharing your professional insights on Wisdom Café Wednesdays and how to do it here.
-Reading about and reaching out to featured colleagues.
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Enjoy,
The Wisdom Café Team

PS - Want to see specific content or staff member featured? E-mail us at wisdomcafe@berkeley.edu.

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