Learning From Miscommunication in Project Teams

Stop nodding and start clarifying. Every vague answer is a new risk waiting to explode. I learned this the hard way. Earlier in my career I was quick to move on when someone said “this looks alright.” I thought being a good PM meant moving things along. Eventually, I saw what 'looked alright' grow into big problems that cost time, energy and money. Projects don’t go off track because people lack skills, but because of our habit of filling gaps in understanding with assumptions. It’s easy to think everyone is on the same page. We assume stakeholders understand risks, that team members know what their priorities are, and that clients agree with our approach. But every time we assume, we set ourselves up for confusion and wasted effort down the road. Now, I take three steps to avoid these hidden problems: (1) I repeat back what I hear, in my own words. I wait for confirmation. (2) I ask clear follow-up questions, even if it’s uncomfortable. A little discomfort now saves a ton of energy later. "When you say ASAP, what's the latest date you need this delivered?" "What specifically doesn't look right to you?" (3) I pause and dig deeper. I keep the conversation focused until the gap has been addressed. An underappreciated aspect of the PM job is to build trust between the functional and technical teams. Doing that means being willing to surface the awkward gaps in understanding. That’s how we keep projects healthy. #projectmanagement #changemanagement #culture ___________ If this post resonated, you learned something, found it interesting, or I challenged your perspective and you'd like to keep the conversation going, feel free to follow or connect. I welcome new connections and perspectives. I write about the messy, human side of project and change management 2-3x a week, and occasionally share my thoughts on AI.

When onboarding a new team member, a recent experience with asynchronous collaboration brought a humbling revelation. As I was onboarding her to our tech stack, I uncovered a blind spot in communications within our project management software, Asana. 📝 In the meticulous notes I left for myself a while ago in one of the Asana projects, I had cut and pasted some language from an email to a client that included the word "YOU". 🤔 I failed to consider the potential confusion for my new team member. It hadn't occurred to me that she would interpret that "YOU" to be referencing her. ⚠️ What I had put in Asana as notes became unintended directives for the new Virtual Work Insider team member! The result? 📉 A cascade of actions on her end, each based on a misinterpretation of my notes. ⏳ This was an inefficient use of her time and effort that were invested in tasks that weren't needed or intended. The fix? 🔄 Once I realized what had happened we had a great discussion about how I would change my note-taking behavior in shared Asana projects to make the async communication clearer and we refined on our norms for how new requests would come through to her. My aha moment made we want to share some actionable insights for seamless onboarding in asynchronous settings. ✅ Precision in Messaging: Avoid vague language and ensure that your notes are explicitly for personal use and directives to others are clearly marked as tasks. ✅ Establish Communication Norms: Kickstart the collaboration by setting expectations on how tools like Asana are used. Establish a shared understanding of communication conventions to avoid misinterpretations. ✅ Feedback Loop: Create an open channel for feedback. Encourage your team to seek clarification if something seems ambiguous. This proactive approach can avoid potential misunderstandings. What would you add to this list? 👇 #virtualleadership #hybridleadership #hybridwork #async

I once worked with a team that was, quite frankly, toxic. The same two team members routinely derailed meeting agendas. Eye-rolling was a primary form of communication. Side conversations overtook the official discussion. Most members had disengaged, emotionally checking out while physically present. Trust was nonexistent. This wasn't just unpleasant—it was preventing meaningful work from happening. The transformation began with a deceptively simple intervention: establishing clear community agreements. Not generic "respect each other" platitudes, but specific behavioral norms with concrete descriptions of what they looked like in practice. The team agreed to norms like "Listen to understand," "Speak your truth without blame or judgment," and "Be unattached to outcome." For each norm, we articulated exactly what it looked like in action, providing language and behaviors everyone could recognize. More importantly, we implemented structures to uphold these agreements. A "process observer" role was established, rotating among team members, with the explicit responsibility to name when norms were being upheld or broken during meetings. Initially, this felt awkward. When the process observer first said, "I notice we're interrupting each other, which doesn't align with our agreement to listen fully," the room went silent. But within weeks, team members began to self-regulate, sometimes even catching themselves mid-sentence. Trust didn't build overnight. It grew through consistent small actions that demonstrated reliability and integrity—keeping commitments, following through on tasks, acknowledging mistakes. Meeting time was protected and focused on meaningful work rather than administrative tasks that could be handled via email. The team began to practice active listening techniques, learning to paraphrase each other's ideas before responding. This simple practice dramatically shifted the quality of conversation. One team member later told me, "For the first time, I felt like people were actually trying to understand my perspective rather than waiting for their turn to speak." Six months later, the transformation was remarkable. The same team that once couldn't agree on a meeting agenda was collaboratively designing innovative approaches to their work. Conflicts still emerged, but they were about ideas rather than personalities, and they led to better solutions rather than deeper divisions. The lesson was clear: trust doesn't simply happen through team-building exercises or shared experiences. It must be intentionally cultivated through concrete practices, consistently upheld, and regularly reflected upon. Share one trust-building practice that's worked well in your team experience. P.S. If you’re a leader, I recommend checking out my free challenge: The Resilient Leader: 28 Days to Thrive in Uncertainty  https://lnkd.in/gxBnKQ8n

Your team isn’t underperforming. They’re misaligned and afraid to ask. 🚨 Mixed signals kill trust faster than any mistake. Not because of what was said. But because of what wasn’t. You think you’re aligned. The meeting ended. Everyone nodded. But two weeks later, the outcomes don’t match the expectations. That’s not incompetence. That’s miscommunication. And it happens in high performing teams more than you think. 🧠 In fact, MIT research found even in elite teams, over 50% of collaboration breakdowns trace back to assumptions about clarity, not capability. The danger isn’t the disagreement. It’s the illusion of alignment. Here’s what poor communication looks like: → People nod when confused because they don’t want to seem lost. → Leaders send “polite signals” to avoid hard truths. → Teams interpret tone more than task. → Everyone fills in the blanks with their own biases. And we wonder why performance suffers. Why relationships feel off. Why things that should work… don’t. The real leadership failure is not calling time out when things feel unclear. We must normalize clarification as a strength, not weakness. If you feel unclear, they probably do too. Clarity isn’t passive. It’s a choice. A skill. Here’s how to lead with clarity: ✅ Don’t decode, confirm. Instead of guessing, ask: → “Can we align on what success looks like?” → “Just to be sure, what’s your understanding of this?” → “I heard you say X, is that right?” ✅ Don’t assume, summarize. After every major conversation, say: → “Here’s what I’m walking away with. Did I miss anything?” ✅ Don’t avoid, own it. When you feel out of sync, say: → “I don’t think we’re on the same page. Can we reset?” 🧠 According to a study by Gallup, teams that strongly agree they can ask clarifying questions without judgment are 64% more productive and 3x more likely to stay engaged. Communication isn’t just talking. It’s verifying understanding. And doing it consistently; especially when you’re tired, busy, or assuming “they get it.” Because high performers rarely ask for clarification. They perform anyway. But performance built on unclear expectations leads to silent resentment, burnout, and failure. Whether it’s your team, your boss, or your partner… Clear is always kind. → Great leaders decode before they decide. → Great partners clarify before they commit. → Great teams align before they act. If you’re tired of guessing what others really mean… It’s time to lead with clarity. Comment Below: What’s your go-to move when alignment feels off? ♻ Repost if you’ve seen mixed signals derail great work. I’m Dan 👊 Follow me for daily posts. I talk about confidence, professional growth and personal growth. ➕ Daniel McNamee

***Behind the Buzzwords: What Organizational Change Actually Means*** We've all sat through those meetings where someone confidently declares, "Our organization needs to change," "We must reposition in the market," or "We need a one-on-one approach with clients." Everyone nods sagely, but I often wonder: are we all picturing the same thing? Last year, our leadership team announced a "repositioning initiative." Six months in, I discovered my definition (revamping our service offerings) was entirely different from my colleague's (changing our target audience) and our CEO's (shifting our pricing model). We were all diligently working toward completely different outcomes while using the same terminology. As Mark Twain aptly put it, "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." When it comes to organizational change, being almost aligned is still misaligned. I'm reminded of Howard Schultz's return to Starbucks in 2008. When he spoke about "recapturing the soul of the past," many interpreted this as simply returning to previous practices. What he actually meant was rebuilding customer intimacy through personalized experiences—a much more complex undertaking that required everyone's understanding to succeed. The concept of "one-on-one approach with clients" presents similar challenges. To our sales team, this meant more in-person meetings. To customer service, it meant personalized communication. To product development, it meant customizable solutions.  All valid interpretations, but impossible to execute cohesively without clarity. My favorite miscommunication happened during our company's "digital transformation." After weeks of work, our tech team proudly unveiled a sophisticated new CRM system. Meanwhile, marketing had created a series of webinars, and operations had redesigned our remote work policy. All fell under the umbrella of "digital transformation" yet none were coordinated efforts. These experiences taught me three critical lessons: -Define terms explicitly, even when they seem obvious -Document these definitions where everyone can reference them -Regularly check for alignment by asking team members to describe goals in their own words When Netflix pivoted from DVD rentals to streaming, Reed Hastings ensured every employee understood not just what was changing, but why. This clarity enabled alignment that competitors struggled to match. So before your next change initiative, ask: Could each person in this room explain our goals in the same way? If not, you might be setting yourself up for perfectly executed misalignment. #GennadiyVaksman #GV #MrG #Gennadiy Video credits to the respective owner. DM for credit. ✅️ I share content that I find unique, inventive, and distinctively cool.  ✅️ Follow me for more updates: Gennadiy Vaksman ✅️ Stay tuned for my latest content by ringing the bell icon (🔔) at the top right corner of my profile.