Project managers must constantly extend themselves to all of the consultants
on the team in a personal and individual manner, so that they can attempt to identify and resolve perception problems as they begin. If project managers initiate frequent, private conversations with individual team members, they can take important steps to identify and correct perception problems that can hinder a consultant’s performance and future work.
Project managers can benefit from understanding what behaviors might cause consultants to form a negative impression, and how to manage themselves, as project managers, to allow consultants to perceive them positively. One aspect of project management that greatly affects consultants’ perceptions is how the project manager handles the flow of information. Quite often, the project manager is privy to a large quantity of information provided by the client or user group surrounding a project.
Some or all of that information needs to be disbursed to various team members to keep the team informed of the day-to-day decisions that will affect the project and the team. If the manager’s judgment is wrong and too much or too little information is communicated, it could be detrimental to how the team and the consultants perceive the success of the project.