Goals – Knowledge of a project’s overarching goals provides the context for understanding the specific objectives/ tasks of individual team members. All team members should understand and be able to communicate the driving business needs and the project’s expected outcome. Those leading group interaction/ meetings should state the specific goals of the meeting, phone conference or other team communication. It’s everyones’ job to maintain focus on the goals of a particular meeting, thus respecting each others time.

Roles – Every team member needs to understand his/ her individual role and specific responsibilities. Teams are interdependent by design, heavily reliant on each member fulfilling their respective roles. Teams are intentionally comprised of individuals with unique skills, expertise and differing perspectives. As such, it is not possible for every team member to fully understand everyone’s role and responsibilities. However, members should have a basic comprehension of the duties and activities of others, especially where it directly impacts them.

Expectations – Communicating expectations is just as important within a project team as it is with the customer. Every team member not only has the right to know what is expected of them, but the personal obligation to find out. Once an individual learns he or she is assigned to a project, he or she inherits the responsibility of learning what is expected… not waiting to be told.

Accountability – Accountability is the backbone of teamwork and trust. Teams where each member meets his/ her personal project responsibilities enjoy a greater degree of mutual success than those who can’t count on each other to follow through.

Timing – In order to coordinate project activities and ensure milestones are met, team members must be personally committed to the team and deliver on their individual deadlines.

How to leverage the GREAT acronym…
Use the GREAT acronym, during meetings, phone/ video conferences, or other group discussions, to keep the focus on…
G. (Goals) … the goals of the particular discussion as well as the goals of the overall project.
R. (Roles) … the individual roles of team members.
E. (Expectations) … everyone understanding what is expected of them.
A. (Accountability) … what each team member is accountable for, the current status and ongoing progress reporting.
T. (Timing) … task deadlines and the individual commitment to their completion.

Through years of managing projects I have identified 31 prompts to keep critical team principles at the forefront & in focus. These reminders are presented in the form of six acronyms, keeping them easy to remember. The acronyms are: GREAT, FLAVOR, DREAM, ANSWER, SMART & SAFE.

G.R.E.A.T. (Goals, Roles, Expectations, Accountability & Timing)
GREAT Interactions/meetings take place when everyone understands what is expected of them and others.

F.L.A.V.O.R. (Follow, Lead, Attitude, Value, Ownership & Respect)
It is the personal responsibility of everyone to add FLAVOR to the team.

D.R.E.A.M. (Decision Makers, Representation, Expertise, Ability & Manageability)
When building project teams, remember that DREAM Teams are winning teams.

A.N.S.W.E.R. (Accurate, Necessary, Succinct, Written, Effective & Responsive)
ANSWER serves as a guide toward successful communication.

S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic & Time-based)
Efficient project management begins with developing SMART Objectives.

S.A.F.E. (Simple, Affordable, Flexible & Efficient)
Provide SAFE solutions to internal & external customers.

In subsequent posts I will delve deeper into each acronym. Until then, I leave you with a memory key. Committing the silly phrase “GREAT Interactions add FLAVOR, while DREAM Teams ANSWER Communications, & SMART Objectives lead to SAFE Solutions,” to memory will help you recall these important team principles.
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I first saw the S.M.A.R.T. acronym in use by various entities on the web. All other acronyms presented herein are original creations.

Further drawing from Dr. Covey’s insights, he is also quoted as saying, “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” Taking minor liberty and combining his quotes, I can imagine Dr. Covey agreeing with my conclusion: The idiom getting on the same page applies equally to our ability to inspire as well as to our ability to clearly communicate our common objectives.

Throughout my career I have tried to emulate the likes of Dr. Covey. I work hard at becoming a more effective communicator, so that I might both inspire, and contribute to the clarity of vision that every team and relationship requires. Despite years of improvement, all too often, I still find an unacceptable gap between what I thought had been communicated and what other team members understood. My quest for clarity ultimately led to a simple method I call the 3Cs: capture, clarify and confirm. When I communicate a task to my staff, I ask them to “3C it!” This reminder begins the quest to fully capture, clarify and confirm the task that I am asking of them. When managing up or otherwise taking on projects myself, I mentally kick off the same process, by remind myself to use the 3Cs.

The 3Cs…

1. Capture – Capturing is simply illustrating the objective in the most effective and appropriate form. Much of the time a simple email restating what is to be accomplished is all that is needed. At other times… diagrams, flow charts, etc. may be required. Whether the capture takes the form of text, pictures, audio/video, etc., it is important to do just what is needed. The illustration of the objective should not become the objective. Often, during the capture stage, the “illustrator/documentor” recognizes an alternate approach, leading to a better solution.
2. Clarify – The clarification stage is where the captured objective is communicated back to the initiator. A two-way communication cycle consisting of clarifying questions and responses ensues. During this process, the captured/illustrated objective is modified to more accurately reflect mutual understanding.
3. Confirm – Once mutual understanding has been achieved, the initiator “confirms” that their request has been accurately captured.

To some of you this will seem overly formal, to others not formal or detailed enough. All I can tell you is that it works. Over time, you and those you work with will become better able to communicate vision and shared objectives. The more closely we are aligned, the more effective we are as a team. This is true at work and in our personal lives. Whether you are looking to get in sync, gain alignment or begin singing from the same sheet of music, it is my hope that some variation of “3C-ing it” will help you mind the gaps in your communication. It certainly has helped mine. -Russ