Program Management and the Art of Communication

University System of Maryland via edX Professional Certificate

Overview

You may have heard that “90% of a project manager’s work is communication.” Well that’s even more true as a program manager. But do you know why communication is so important and what is good communication for making projects successful?

If you have even a little project management experience, you know communication is no longer just the transfer of information and giving directives to project managers and project teams. Modern communication theory is based upon creating shared understanding – “the coordinated management of meaning.” And nowhere is it more important to manage and coordinate meaning – and understanding – than in programs and projects.

Earn up to 50 PDUs as you progress in this professional certificate, you will learn:

How to communicate for understanding instead of just giving information.
What Aristotle taught us about effective communication and why his 2,000-year old advice is still vital to persuasive communication.
How the “Coordinated Management of Meaning” can help you develop and lead high-performing project teams and programs.
How you can better manage the flow of program or project communication, as the information hub on your project.
How to master both emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence when communicating with your project managers, teams and stakeholders.
How to negotiate effectively using hidden emotional and cultural subtexts.How to effectively communicate online with a distributed workforce by being “virtually present.”
Approaches for communicating for understanding as the foundation of being a coaching, situational leadership, and servant leadership program/project manager.
To use storytelling as a powerful risk management tool.

This certificate program is not just about theory; I also give the working project manager aspiring to program management practical tips and tools to help them improve their most important skill: communication. You've worked hard to gain the Project Management Institute, Inc's (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification or similar project management certification. And, you have mastered the PMBOK guide ("A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge) communication knowledge area while preparing for the PMP exam.

These workplace-tested tips and tools are ready to use today as you manage your programs and projects whether you have project management training in traditional or agile project management (PMI-ACP). Even certified scrum masters can benefit from this online course Along with gaining professional development units (PDU), upgrade your project management training with the power skill of communication.

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Effective Communication for Program and Project Stakeholders and Teams

Go beyond the communication methods you learned in the project management training. Learn how to structure your program and project communications for the most effective understanding by your stakeholders, project managers, and project teams.

Course 2: Persuasion and Presence for Program and Project Managers

Logic is not enough. Program managers need presence and to move stakeholders emotionally. Project professionals only follow people they both respect and trust. Learn to apply Aristotle’s persuasion triad to create successful communication that persuades.

Course 3: Managing Conflicts on Projects with Cultural and Emotional Intelligence

Great program managers understand and heal bad communication habits and conflicts that arise within project teams and stakeholders. Learn how by leveraging emotional and cultural intelligence using the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM).

Course 4: Designing Project Information Hubs for Program and Project Performance

The most valuable resource on a project is timely information. Why? Because information changes the decisions that determine project outcomes. Learn the planning skills and techniques needed to manage information across complex programs or projects.

Course 5: Storytelling That Delivers Program and Project Outcomes

Storytelling is how leaders lead other leaders. Tell your project’s story to inspire your project teams, encourage your stakeholders, and gain customer commitment to project and program success.

Courses

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5 weeks, 3-5 hours a week, 3-5 hours a week
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“Everyone communicates, but few connect” is a famous book and message by John C. Maxwell on leadership. The meaning behind this message is that as leaders of programs and projects, we need to be not just communicators, but effective communicators.

Obtaining your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) or similar project management certificate is the first step. But, as you gain program management and project management experience, you realize that effective communication goes beyond what you learned in "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK).

Gaining a program management certification or project management certification (such as the PMP certification) equips you with the necessary project management tools to begin your project or project management career. There is more to effective program and project communication than what is on the PMP exam.

For communication from program managers and project managers to be truly effective, there must be understanding beyond what you learned from your professional certification. The communicator and the receiver must use feedback to determine how the message was received and if the communicator created the intended level of understanding in the receiver for the communication to succeed.

In this course, you will learn about the Understanding Triad - know-what, know-how, and know-why. The Understanding Triad aids you in crafting just the right level of explanation for all your audiences. The Understanding Triad will make you a more effective program manager, traditional project manager, agile project manager, or certified scrum master.

The Project Management Institute, Inc (PMI) teaches that project management communication is the transfer of information. The project or program manager sends messages to their project teams, stakeholders, customers, and executive sponsors. If the program manager or project manager believes that communicating a clear message is enough for good communication, then the manager may be fooled into thinking their communication efforts are complete. Even if there is feedback, the feedback is usually limited to confirming that the message was received as intended. However, communication is not merely the transmission of information. The difference can be days, months, or years of wasted time and effort; or successful, early delivery.

Certified program and certified project managers earn 10 professional development units (PDU) as they learn how communication can make a difference in every interaction, and become a truly effective program or project manager. Gain the power skill of communication in this certificate program.
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5 weeks, 3-5 hours a week, 3-5 hours a week
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Persuasion is the central to leading leaders. As a program manager or project manager, you may lead a team with many senior contributors. Often they will have more experience, more skin in the game, and more reputation at stake. As a program manager, this task is even greater because your time is limited and your span of control across projects even greater. Being a compelling communicator takes more than what you learned for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam or Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. It takes program or project management experience and this certificate program.

Program managers must persuade quickly, and with great lasting impact. Program and project managers must persuade and manage their leadership presence for program or project success. Even if you are a traditional program or project manager or manage agile programs or projects, persuasive communication is vital to your success. Communicating more persuasively will lead to more effective risk management.

There are complete blindsports in the Project Management Institute, Inc's (PMI)"A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK Guide). Applying those processes and skills are just the basics of efficient communication.

That’s why certified project managers will earn 10 professional development units (PDU) in this program. You will learn the balance needed to communicate effectively.

Aristotle first wrote about balancing logic, emotion, and presence over 2,000 years ago. Creating a balance between ethos, pathos, and logos, the persuader creates a message that grabs the attention of the audience and engages them as people. A person doesn’t understand when they are not paying attention, is not engaged with the speaker, and doesn’t remember what was said. Ethos, pathos, and logos aid the speaker and the listener, by helping to select information to present and how to fashion its delivery for the best effect.

In this program management and project management training course, you will go beyond the communication skills you learned for the PMP exam to gain your project management certification. You will learn about the rhetorical triangle and how to use it to craft persuasive communications. Social media and online collaboration tools require new ways of establishing your presence and generating trust between you and your audience. You will also learn how to create an emotional impact even through text messages and emails.
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Program and project managers are master storytellers. They have to be in order to weave high-priority information into a memorable narrative for their people. Customers must commit to and understand their goals, and how the program is meeting them. Stakeholders need to trust the direction and stay engaged with the program intent. Program and project teams and leaders, need to understand what matters and how their work connects to the greater whole.

Storytelling is not a part of the Project Management Institute, Inc's (PMI) "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge'' (PMBOK). Storytelling is not something that Certified Associate In Project Management (CAPM), Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), certified scrum masters, or other certified project manager credential holders will encounter on an exam. Storytelling is something that successful program or project managers learn from years of experience. If storytelling is not on the PMP exam or similar project management certification exams, why should you bother learning how to tell good stories?

Because, human brains are naturally designed for stories. We have brain structures devoted to making sense of the world in cause-effect terms. Good stories are like flight simulators in that you can try out various approaches to a problem before tackling the real problem. Risk management for programs and projects is more effective when using compelling narratives. Stories are also effective ways to transmit large amounts of information to your project teams and stakeholders. People can remember more information and act effectively on that information. For agile project management, stories are how customers communicate their requirements to the agile project team. Stories are the foundation of persuasive communication and will help you become an expert communicator.

In this online course of the Program Management and the Art of Communication certificate program, you will learn how great program and project managers use their storytelling skills to create compelling project visions, persuade stakeholders, and design effective risk management strategies.

Earn 10 professional development units (PDUs) while completing the only professional certification program that helps you develop storytelling as part of your collection of project management tools.