Non verbal Communication in Project Team Management

Channels of Communication

Communication in a workplace occurs in various forms and use different channels. One of the critical components of communication is non-verbal communication, which varies based on culture and behavior. The situation in the case study demonstrates the significance of communication in an organization, particularly elements of non-verbal behavior. As evident in the scenario, most of the communication in the marketing department of a Fortune 500 consumer products company takes place informally. As the project team is working on a marketing research report, communication between the members is essential for their success and the overall organizational success. This paper discusses the key issues and the underlying issues with the goal of developing tentative solutions to address the problem as well as follow-up and contingency plans.

Key Issues and Underlying Issues

As stated in the case study, Margulis, the director of marketing research, continues to use informal management style as his preferred leadership style. This leadership style is based on shared self-interest and camaraderie between the manager and his/her followers. In Margulis’ situation, the informal management style has enabled him to interact with everyone in the department. Consequently, Margulis seemingly puts in extra work to ensure his department makes meaningful contributions since informal management style requires leaders to manage and make decisions regarding team tasks (Chiu et al., 2021).

The key issue is to develop skills that enhance effectiveness as a project team leader and the effectiveness of the project team in achieving its goals. The effectiveness of project team leadership requires effective communication skills, which include verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors. Non-verbal communication behavior is the most important aspect of this issue given that the leaders in the organization do not really have challenges with verbal or written communication. As evident in the case study, Margulis has developed suitable verbal communication styles and behavior through his informal management style. The underlying issues include identifying suitable non-verbal communication behaviors for competent project team leadership, building rapport with team members, and establishing team members’ trust. Competent project team leadership, rapport with team members, and establishing members’ trust require identification and application of suitable non-verbal communication behaviors. Such behaviors provide a premise for the project team leader to be effective and motivate team members toward the accomplishment of the desired objectives.

Facts Affecting the Issues

Lopez has 6 months experience working as a market analyst in this department. However, she has not led a project team before and has no direct reports. While she is considered a rising star because of her various important contributions, Lopez seemingly has no experience in leading a project team. Her lack of experience in leading a project team is evident in the fact that Margulis considers this experience as an important process to add to her skill set. The lack of experience in such a role implies that Lopez does not necessarily possess skills and abilities to make her a competent project team leader though she makes important contributions to the organization. Moreover, her interactions with others within the department have been centered on her contributions to marketing research rather than leading a project team. The need for an initial coaching session with Margulis is also an indicator that Lopez does not have the necessary skills for effective project team leadership. She needs to develop or identify suitable team communication strategies before launching the project, which requires identifying and applying non-verbal communication behaviors.

Tentative Solution and Implementation Process

The tentative solution to address this problem is to create a harmonious environment for enhancing interpersonal relationships among project team members. The initial coaching session and launching of the project team should focus on equipping Lopez with the necessary skills to create a harmonious environment that improves interpersonal relationships. Veltsos & Hynes (2021) states that one of the key managerial strategies for applying non-verbal communication research is creating a harmonious environment. Such an environment should also incorporate efforts to influence others and even during negotiations. Since Margulis already utilizes an informal management style, the creation of a harmonious environment for better interpersonal relationships would be suitable to address the current problem.

The creation of such an environment would involve ensuring that suitable nonverbal communication behaviors for the workplace are adopted. In this regard, appropriate body language is one of the behaviors that would improve the competency of the project team leader and help establish rapport and trust among team members. For Lopez, the use of appropriate body language would involve using non-verbal communication cues that promote cohesion and motivate others in the workplace. Some of these non-verbal cues include smiling at someone, waving hands, and maintaining eye contact. As noted by Anh (2017), these non-verbal cues are associated with positive effects on others and contribute to the establishment of a harmonious working environment for all.

The implementation of this tentative solution would involve offering training to enhance Lopez’s competency in non-verbal communication in the workplace. The training will be provided during the initial coaching session and will focus on providing insight into non-verbal signals that are commonly employed in the workplace. In this regard, Margulis should utilize his experiences in informal interactions with employees in the department to identify commonly used non-verbal signals and their meanings. Insights obtained from the interactions should be the premise of training on non-verbal signals in the initial coaching session. Therefore, one of the topics to be covered in the coaching session is non-verbal signals used by employees in this department and their meanings. Secondly, the training will include insights into cultural awareness and how they shape non-verbal communication. Nonverbal signals and their meanings vary depending on culture and region and are obtained from interactions with the communication environment (Veltsos & Hynes, 2021). This topic will enhance Lopez’s cultural competency in relation to non-verbal communication.

Follow-up and Contingency Plans

The effectiveness of this solution will be determined based on the nature of the project team environment. It will be deemed effective if project team members are highly motivated and work towards achieving the desired goal. To determine the motivation of project team members, regular feedback will be obtained. Feedback will be obtained through regular informal meetings with project team members, meetings with Lopez, and periodic evaluations of project team performance. If the solution is deemed ineffective, an assessment of its shortcomings will be carried out. Insights obtained from the assessment will be used for training the entire project team to equip them with skills in non-verbal communication.