We have discussed what a project manager must communicate about the project, its goals, and the expectations the project manager has for every team member, including consultants. In addition to these significant tasks, project managers must also be able to communicate about their role and their style. To ensure that consultants do their best, they must make it easy for consultants to perceive that they listen, and that they are inclusive of all members of the team.
The largest obstacle for any project manager to overcome is perception. A project can be executed to technical perfection, but if a consultant or other team member is left out of an exchange of information leading to a key decision, that consultant will begin to perceive that the project manager has isolated him or her, or plays favorites, and these perceptions will affect the team dynamic.
It has been proven in the design field that when a consultant has a poor perception of the project manager, that consultant’s productivity will be upset, and ultimately, so will be the team’s. Unbeknown to the project manager, this perception can escalate to the crisis level with a single consultant, or among a group of consultants. Every manager who has led a project team has witnessed this theory of perception and its detrimental effect on the team, and knows as well that poor perception can also affect the project manager’s firm: it has happened that a project is a success by all measures, yet a particular consultant denies a letter of reference. In essence, project managers must remember that for consultants who are on “the fringe” of the team, the power of perception will always overshadow any amount of effort expended.