26.07.15 3 Tips for Communicating Effectively with Dupe Durojaiye (58)
[00:00:00] Chris: In this episode of Great Practices, I'm joined by Dupe Durojaye, a project coordinator from the Coca-Cola Company. Listen in and find out what effective communication is, how you know if you're doing it well, symptoms to look out for if you're not, and three tips that you can take to become a very effective communicator.
[00:00:22] Plus, you'll find out that stakeholders are people too, ways to get a reputation where people will want to help you out, and how you can stop getting those dreaded emails that constantly ask, "Where are we on this?"
[00:00:36] Or, "What's the latest on that?" We'd like to welcome you to this episode of Great Practices, and today we are talking about effective communication. I want you to think back to the last time you called your cellphone company to change your service or maybe ask a question about your bill.
[00:01:20] After a long wait on hold, you finally talk to a human being, but then they disappear while they work on your question. Two minutes pass, five minutes pass, seven minutes passed. How do you begin to feel? Did they forget about me? Am I still connected? The irritation and frustration begin to mount.
[00:01:43] Then someone picks up the phone and says, "Sorry about that. I'll be back with you in one minute with the answer." What happens? Well, you know they haven't forgotten about you, you know you're still connected, and even the irritation and frustration begin to subside, all because someone [00:02:00] said, "We'll be right with you."
[00:02:02] So do we sometimes put our project stakeholders on hold by not communicating with them regularly? Well, you know how you feel when you called the cellphone company and ended up feeling ignored? Well, your stakeholders can feel the same way about you if you don't communicate with them effectively.
[00:02:23] That's what we're gonna talk about today with Dupe Durojaiye. Dupe is a PMP and certified Scrum master, and has worked as an account coordinator for Coca-Cola for the past five years.
[00:02:35] Dupe has cracked the code when it comes to communicating effectively, and is willing to share that with us today. Dupe, welcome to Great Practices.
[00:02:46] Dupe: Thank you so much, Chris, for having me
[00:02:48] Chris: So Dupe, we're gonna always start out with our first question of just telling us a little bit about yourself and what you do
[00:02:55] Dupe: Um, so my name is Dukupe. I currently work with Coca-Cola as an account coordinator, where I coordinate equipment installations across the various states of the US, and I also handle daily operational requests. And prior to working for Coke, I worked for a global dairy company called Arla Foods, and I was original product manager, where I handled, uh, brand expansion projects for key sub-Saharan Africa locations, and I also was a, a part of the product development team.
[00:03:22] So that's a quick overview
[00:03:24] Chris: now, now you're saying, when you're saying Coke, you're talking about like those machines and stuff like that that will go into the restaurants and we can do the self-serve and all that type of deal.
[00:03:31] That's, that's your area of expertise
[00:03:33] Dupe: Yes, exactly. Yes, that. Those machines
[00:03:36] Chris: excellent. Um, so what is one skill that you have developed that has made you very effective, I guess you would say, at this job?
[00:03:48] Dupe: Um, I think a, a, a skill that I have developed that has helped, that I believe also helps with, driving, success in projects is effective stakeholder communication
[00:03:59] Chris: How would you [00:04:00] define, how would you define what that is? Like what the, what stakeholder communication even is?
[00:04:06] Dupe: so I'll just define it basically as keeping your stakeholders informed throughout the project life cycle, and that involves ensuring that the right people are getting the right information at the right time. And what this helps with is proper decision-making, alignment, and overall project success
[00:04:24] Chris: And I like the fact that you tied in the results, right? It's like, you know, so the right people, the right time, the right information, but it ultimately, it's what drives the project forward. It keeps things moving, you know, helps them make the right decisions that need to be made. So that's, that's key right there. so to that point then, how, how do you know if you are, uh, effectively communicating with your stakeholders? Like what do those projects and what do those conversations look like if you're doing a good job there?
[00:04:55] Dupe: Um, so for me, I think a key indicator is that people aren't chasing you for updates because you're proactively communicating, right? When your stakeholders are aware of next steps as well as risks early, then you can make decisions that can help move the project forward. And when you have meetings as well, you know, you're not spending your meetings, uh, clarifying misunderstandings, but you're working on actions, next steps and mitigating risks, and basically your projects move and, um, you're meeting your timelines and you're also staying on cost and, and you're having good relationships with your stakeholders
[00:05:30] Chris: No, that's key. And so I like, I like that because what you're saying is, you're not bringing everybody up to speed. You're not having to, have them find you, uh, but you're actually able to get work done that, that again continues to move, move things forward. So it's excellent. Now, I guess this next question would be the maybe the exact opposite, um, of what I just asked as far as how do we know what it looks like if you're doing a good job.
[00:05:58] What symptoms have you [00:06:00] seen appear if you're not effectively communicating with your stakeholders? What does that look like?
[00:06:07] Dupe: And for me, I think a key symptom is what people say, so the kind of feedback you're getting, and it, it boils down to the kind of questions that you're getting from people. When you're hearing, "When did we change this?" You know, "I didn't know about this. When did this happen?" And when you start to get that kind of feedback, then you know that your stakeholders are not getting the information they need to make informed decisions, and so there's, like, a lag, and that for me is a big symptom of, you know, what would happen if you aren't communicating effectively
[00:06:40] Chris: the, well, I didn't know about this. That is classic, right? You know, or when did this change? Or who, who made this decision? You know, all of that kind of deal because, yeah, so very common, common refrain then. So what have you seen, like, so you get, you get those conversations, you know, I didn't know about this, or when did this change?
[00:07:01] What's the impact to the projects that you've seen then, um, if, if you're not communicating effectively?
[00:07:08] Dupe: I think the big impact is missing deadlines. So when your stakeholders don't have the information they need to be able to make decisions, a lot of deadlines are going to be missed. And two, if you can't mitigate risks on time because people don't have information, it can affect your budget as well. And I think a key one it also affects is your stakeholder relationships.
[00:07:31] So when people can't make the right decisions and there are delays, you know, your stakeholders get frustrated. So for me, those are, like, big things that I think, you know, can impact your project as a whole
[00:07:43] Chris: I like number two, where you said-- Well, I liked them all, but I like number two especially, where you can't mitigate risks. So if they don't know that there is a problem, you could've done something with it if you had time, you know, or you could've moved things around. But if you spring that on the last minute, then, [00:08:00] then like you're saying, that can just absolutely tank a project there.
[00:08:03] Dupe: Yes,
[00:08:04] Chris: So we've set up basically what effective communication is, what it looks like, what it looks like if you're not doing it. Um, so let's zero in now on, like, how you've unlocked that code, right? So let's talk about what steps have you taken to effectively communicate yourself. What have, uh, what have you put in place that's allowed you to, excel in this area?
[00:08:28] Dupe: And so I basically have three tips to give. my first tip would be that you set communication cadence early, so you're setting your expectations from the start. And for example, if you're gonna be sending a report, there has to be, um, some consistency with the report. So from the start, your stakeholders know, is this gonna be a bi-weekly report?
[00:08:49] Is it gonna be every week? Also, what day of the week is it gonna be? Is it Monday every week, Monday every two weeks? As well as what's the content of this report? Um, is it gonna be s- um, timelines, risks, delays, next steps? And what that does for you is that the consistency eliminates the uncertainty, where your stakeholders don't have to worry about when they're going to get the next update.
[00:09:13] And it solves a major problem, and I call that the where are we on this emails. And that's when that's all you spend your time doing because stakeholders don't have information, different people are sending you different messages at different times looking to get updates, and instead of you focusing on your task, you're responding all day to emails from stakeholders.
[00:09:33] And, you know, what that helps you with is the structure helps you to work better, and it helps your stakeholders to also be informed. So that's the first thing I would encourage everybody to do
[00:09:45] Chris: So I, I love that consistency eliminates uncertainty, you know? And, and, uh, if they know that it's gonna be coming, they, they're not gonna come to you with a, "Where are we on this?" email. And I was just thinking about it. If, if you're not [00:10:00] doing it that way, that's the difference between standing up in front of a group of people and telling them all, "This is where things stand, and this is where we are," versus you having to go through that entire audience one by one, and they're asking you, "Where are we on this?
[00:10:12] Where are we on this? Where are we..." I mean, what a huge time saver for you, as far as being able to look at it that way, so excellent. Okay, so that's number one, establish a clear rhythm, cadence on reports, communications, meetings, that type of thing. What's the second tip that you have?
[00:10:31] Dupe: A second tip would be to tailor your communication to your stakeholders and the channel as well. So what this basically means is that not everybody needs the exact same reports. For example, your customer just wants to know delivery estimates, your internal teams are more concerned with timelines, tasks, and next steps, and, you know, that high-level executive just wants a quick overview.
[00:10:55] So just, um, making sure that the right person, like I mentioned earlier, is getting the right information is key. And then the channels you use are also very important. So some people, like I have people, they don't respond to emails, but if you call them, you could get a quick update. You have the people that are more responsive via text message, and you do have the ones that want email for structure.
[00:11:15] But at the end of the day, there still has to be proper documentation, right? Where, so that to just prevent any misalignment, you can add the updates, you know, via email. Just a quick, "Hi, uh, based on our conversation, this is a quick recap," and then add that in your reports, um, that you send out as well. So I think that's very key
[00:11:35] Chris: So you touched on a critical point there as far as, important documentation or that you've got the, it documented. So are you saying like giving somebody an update in an elevator on the way to the fifth floor, that's not, that would not be effective communication or do you have to do more than that?
[00:11:51] Dupe: Um, guessing, so what an e- elevator discussion does is it gives you feedback, but it doesn't, it, uh, the documentation is key [00:12:00] to eliminate a he said, she said thing. You don't want a situation whereby somebody's like, "Oh, I don't remember saying that. Oh, I, I don't, I don't think I co- approved that." So, you know, when you send that email, it's a quick recap, and that's something I encourage.
[00:12:14] It just, documentation is key for every project. So you send a quick email saying, "Hi, just based on our conversation," adding the key stakeholders and saying, "Based on our conversation today, these are the next steps. This is what you have approved. Please confirm, and then we can proceed." I do encourage it.
[00:12:30] It's, it's always good to just pull out that email, and it's like, aha.
[00:12:35] I do encourage that
[00:12:36] Chris: Now I have seen, I have seen project managers take it to an extreme, and I haven't seen it lately, but I remember, you know, years ago they'd have the read receipts. I don't even know if, I don't even know if
[00:12:47] Dupe: Oh,
[00:12:47] Chris: does it anymore.
[00:12:49] Dupe: yeah, they j- they still do.
[00:12:50] Chris: still do that? Okay. So that was, uh, it's just, that just, that just screams, "I don't trust you."
[00:12:57] You know? But, but you've gotta have, you've gotta have it somewhere in writing. And to your point, I think an email is, is fine, right? And I mean, over time we've got a- we've established trust in that relationship and everything. But yeah, like when I'd get those, when I get those read receipt ones, I would just be like,
[00:13:13] Dupe: I think, I, I, those re- re- read receipts, um, you know you can decline them, right? So I always do. You don't need to s- You, like, you can just close the box.
[00:13:22] Chris: yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I just, I would never, I would never, never responded back to that. Ridiculous
[00:13:28] Dupe: But I feel like, um, to be fair, um, depending on the kind of projects you handle, there's some sensitive things where that thing is needed so that people won't say, "Oh, I didn't see that. Oh, I didn't get that information." Because people do ignore emails sometimes, and that's why sometimes you need to use the other channels where it's like, "Hi, I just sent you an email.
[00:13:48] I need your quick confirmation," or a quick text, so that also helps
[00:13:52] Chris: Well, and I think you've nailed it. It's like you figured out what does your audience respond to, what resonates with them, and then, and then you go down [00:14:00] that channel for them individually, so. And I'm not saying individually, but because again, that goes to the counter of what we just talked about as far as giving everybody an update, but just communicating with them in a way that they understand and that they're gonna relate to
[00:14:13] Dupe: Yes, exactly
[00:14:15] Chris: So the third point or the third tip, and we just briefly touched on it, has to do with trust and relationships.
[00:14:22] So, so what is that, what is that third point that you found to communicate effectively?
[00:14:28] Dupe: Um, so at the end of the day, you know, stakeholders are still people, right? And that building trust and relationships, yeah, exa- you know, sometimes you can just look at them as people that are just, like, people on a timeline, and it's like, "This person does this," but they're actually human beings carrying out those tasks.
[00:14:43] So that's the people manager- management aspect of it, where you know you're listening actively, you're ensuring that you're flexible, you remain consistent. And so they, you're somebody that they can count on, and you're also open to help. And, you know, it just helps people put that trust in you where it's like, "Oh, if something doesn't get done, Dupe actually did all she could, and this is something beyond her control."
[00:15:08] And at the end of the day, just treating your stakeholders as people who have emotions, and sometimes they can... You know, things can get out of hand when you're working on projects. People can get upset. So just being that listening ear and just being able to help out I think is very key, and it also helps your projects move faster.
[00:15:27] What I realize is people are always willing to help if they see you as that kind of person who is proactive, who always, like, is responsive to them. When you need something, they're always like, "Oh, it's Dupe. Let's get it done. She's somebody that you can count on, somebody that would listen, somebody that would always go out of her way."
[00:15:43] So that, that for me is a key aspect of, you know, stakeholder communication as well, and management.
[00:15:49] Chris: So how, how have you built that reputation of, "Oh, oh, it's Dupe, let's help her out"? How, how have you built that reputation for yourself?
[00:15:57] Dupe: Um, for me, I think it's [00:16:00] just, um, building proper relationships. So being thankful when people get things done is something that you think will not go far, but when somebody helps me with something, I'm like, "Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help for that." Ceasing their boss, people are, like, always more inclined to help you do stuff when you appreciate.
[00:16:19] And I know sometimes people will be like, "Oh, it's, it's your job, you should do it." But, you know, that extra thing where, you know, you're just grateful that people step outside their way, 'cause they don't need to do it sometimes. And, you know, that thing where, like, a customer or a client needs something urgently and you're willing to be like, "Okay, you're giving us short notice, but we'll try and get it done."
[00:16:42] And you're leveraging on your friendships and your bi- and your partnerships, and you're telling your, you know, people like, "Hey, let's just see what we can do for this c- this client. Let's see what we can do for this customer. Let's try and get them what they need." It helps also, you know, it, it puts the company you work for in a good light where it's like, "Oh, we know those people.
[00:17:00] They will always be willing to go out of their way to help." And I think that's, that's how I build it. And just, you know, building that rapport as well.
[00:17:08] Chris: So I, I, I like it. I mean, you, you, you've-- it sounds like you are centered around gratitude, you know, in a, in a lot of that, right? Then you're not, you're not taking people for granted, and you're not just assuming that that's what they need to do, and of course they're gonna do that and all that kind of deal, but just that little small, that small thank you.
[00:17:25] I've been, I've, I have fortunately, I've been the recipient of a couple of those, you know, emails that CC- that were CC'd to my boss, and this time they weren't bad ones. You know, sometimes you get those too, right? But it's like, man, it's like, am I gonna go so much further for that person? 100%,
[00:17:42] Dupe: Yeah
[00:17:43] Chris: Well, Dupe, these were, uh, excellent tips. Establish a clear rhythm or cadence early on so people know what to expect. Tailor communication to each person and channel, and then build trust and relationships, and then we're gonna sprinkle a little bit of gratitude in on that, and it sounds like that's a, a, a [00:18:00] perfect, recipe for communicating effectively.
[00:18:03] Now, if there was one great practice that you would want our audience to remember today, what would it be?
[00:18:11] Dupe: It will be, be proactive, not reactive with your communication. I think that's the big one for me because you don't want your stakeholders surprised with something that you could have communicated earlier.
[00:18:24] Chris: Got
[00:18:24] Dupe: a big one for me
[00:18:26] Chris: Got it. So get ahead of it. I think I would term it as preemptive communication, you know? Give them what they need before they even know that they need it, you know? Here you are, you don't know you got this question yet, but here's the information you're gonna need.
[00:18:40] Dupe: Yeah, I think you can, if you, if you work with projects over time, you can read people's minds on, you know, when you wanna send that report, when you look at it, what I try to do is I try to take this holistic view and I'm like, "If I was this person, what would I like to see? What, what would I like to know?
[00:18:57] What do I think this person is gonna ask me?" And when you, you, you communicate from that angle, it really helps
[00:19:05] Chris: And to that point, even with reports, is this report actionable? can they look at that report and can they do something with it, or are they gonna just have a whole bunch more questions, you know? So if it's not giving them the information they need, it's useless. So, so I love that, just being proactive and just anticipating what they're gonna need.
[00:19:21] Excellent. Well, Dupe, if somebody wanted to talk to you about this further as in, I don't know, maybe effectively communicate with you, um, what's the, what's the best way for them to reach you?
[00:19:33] Dupe: Um, it'll be on LinkedIn. That's the best way. And, and my email as well is always open.
[00:19:39] Chris: perfect. And I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll include both of those in the show notes so that they can just reach out to you directly if they wanna continue that conversation
[00:19:46] Dupe: Great, great. That would be fun. That'd be good
[00:19:49] Chris: All right. Well, we appreciate you being on today, and we look forward to talking to you soon
[00:19:53] Dupe: Great. Thank you so much, Chris, for having me. This was good
[00:20:00] Chris: Well, that was another great episode of Great Practices, and we certainly do appreciate Dupe joining us today. So what were some of the great practices and insights that came from today's episode? Well, she brought out a couple of points as far as how do you know if you're communicating well or maybe you need a little more help in the areas of communication.
[00:20:22] For example, you know you are effectively communicating well if people aren't chasing you for updates or you're not spending time in meetings clarifying misunderstandings. I thought that was a great point because what a waste of time when you can actually be working and building and making things better, but actually you're going backwards and having to clarify misunderstandings.
[00:20:45] And what's the opposite? Well, if you are looking for symptoms of not communicating well, listen to people's feedback. Are you constantly being asked, "Well, when did we change this?"
[00:20:57] Or, "I didn't know about that," or, "When did this happen?" Then this means that people aren't getting the information that they need, and it's something that you'll need to look into. Because the ultimate result of this is the fact that projects can miss deadlines, uh, it removes the ability for people to mitigate risks, affects budgets, and stakeholder relationships can even begin to deteriorate if that effective communication is not in place.
[00:21:27] And did you catch those three tips that she had about how to effectively communicate? Well, the first of these is to set your communication cadence early.
[00:21:38] Let people know exactly when they're gonna get updates, exactly what reports they're gonna be getting, what's gonna be on those reports, when they're gonna be getting those reports, so that people aren't having to come to you and say, "Well, what's the latest on this?" Or, "What's the latest on that?" They know that they will be getting that information on a regular basis.
[00:21:58] I love the fact she brought up the [00:22:00] point consistency eliminates uncertainty. So if we can just bake that into our normal weekly routine in dealing with our stakeholders, uh, how much more effective is that communication going to be? The second tip was to tailor your communication to the stakeholder and the channels that they are most familiar with or that are most effective with them.
[00:22:23] And realize the fact that not everybody's gonna need the same information. They're not gonna need the exact same report. They may not need the same level of detail. So you've gotta figure that out based upon your audience, and then really cater to those particular groups of people in the way that they are going to receive and respond to your communication in an effective way And the third point was really about building relationships with your stakeholders.
[00:22:53] And, uh, you know, she brought up a point, you know what? Stakeholders are people too, right? Uh, so they absolutely, they've got families and needs and pressures and stresses just like everybody else does. But if they see that we're going above and beyond, if they see that we're going to help them out, if they're seeing that we're providing them with the information or doing the best job possible, then that's the way that you can build those effective relationships which will also help with communication.
[00:23:21] So in those instances where, you know, maybe a ball is dropped somewhere, then you'll have that reputation of being, "Hey," like Dupe said, "Hey, Dupe did all that she could do with this. We understand, you know, that maybe this was a miss, but we're gonna do what we can to help her out and get things back on track."
[00:23:40] So just real good suggestions from Dupe as far as how to effectively communicate with stakeholders and in doing so, get the results from the projects that we need. So we'd like to thank Dupe again for being on Great Practices today. And do you have a great practice that you'd like to share? Well, you can send an email to [00:24:00] chris.kopp, that's C-H-R-I-S.K-O-P-P@gmail.com.
[00:24:06] Someone will get in touch with you shortly. Also, be sure not to miss a single episode by subscribing to Great Practices on your favorite podcast platform. And if you like what you hear, we've had some great guests on. We've got many more lined up. Uh, be sure to share this with your manager, your colleagues, and anybody else you think would benefit.
[00:24:26] So thanks again for listening to this episode and keep putting great practices into practice
