Chapter Nine. Communication and relationships


One of the earliest engineering stories in Western history is the story of the Tower of Babel, from Genesis, and at its core is a lesson about communication. As the story goes, humanity was happily united in the desert. They soon figured out how to make bricks and mortar. Things were going so well that, for no particular reason, they decided to build a tower high into the sky. Things went along brilliantly until the workers suddenly lost the ability to use the same language (can you say "divine intervention"?), at which point everything literally fell apart. The once-united people were scattered across the world (more divine intervention), and different languages and societies were formed. It's suggested in the story that had they been able to continue to communicate well with each other, nothing would have been impossible (which is perhaps, as the story also suggests, what motivated the divine intervention).
This biblical story is quite short in length: barely a full page. However, through the centuries, it's captured the attention of many artists and writers who used the story to explore contemporary issues. The vivid images of the tower painted by Brueghel(1) and others gave the story increasing relevance to engineering and project management tasks of their times. The interpretations of the story have shifted from age to age, as did the depictions of what the tower actually looked like, but the general themes are the same. Some believe the story is a warning about humanity's hubris and a reminder that some things should be unattainable to us. Others see it as a story of people striving to achieve all that they can by pushing the boundaries of what's possible. But for me, and for the sake of this chapter, the central lesson of the story of Babel is simple: if you can't communicate, you can't succeed.
For much of the history of civilization, the slowness of communication caused problems. Even as late as the American Civil War (1861-1865) there were no radios, telegraphs, or semaphore (flag) systems in common use. Generals sent messages by horse to coordinate battle information with commanders at different camps (which, depending on distance, took hours or days, assuming the messenger didn't get lost). As a result, decisions were often made days in advance with no effective way to withdraw or change attack assignments. Many disasters and frontline miscommunications resulted from these limitations. (Imagine a battlefield commander who has just sounded the charge, sending all his troops to attack, when an exhausted messenger stumbles into his tent. The messenger, struggling to catch his breath, says, "Dispatch from command.... 'Dear commander: The reinforcements you were depending on were sent elsewhere. Sorry. Good luck.'" No wonder messengers were often shot.)
These days, communication is still as important as in previous eras. But two things have changed. First, speed is no longer the primary problem (how can you get faster than instant messaging?). Instead, the problem has become the quality and effectiveness of communication. Second, for work that's as complex and interdependent as software development, communication isn't enough: there need to be effective and healthy relationships between the people who are working together. So many decisions are shared, and so much work is done collaboratively, that without good relationships, no amount of extra communication matters. Unlike the military command structure of an army, most software teams rely on peer-to-peer interaction and other, less hierarchically driven relationships. Although there are often clearly defined leaders, who sometimes give orders, projects are heavily dependent on the team's ability to make use of each other's knowledge, to share ideas, and to work in synchronicity (as opposed to relying on strict lines of authority, rigorous discipline, and the compulsion to follow orders without question).
Because project managers spend a lot of time communicating with individuals and groups, they inevitably carry more responsibility for effective communication than other individuals on the team. Good project managers provide steady streams of good communication and healthy relations, amplifying the effectiveness of everyone they come into contact with. If it's the health of the social network of a team that prevents it from becoming another Tower of Babel, then it's the project manager who has the most natural role in building up and maintaining that network.
Doing this doesn't require an extroverted, game-show-host personality; nor does it demand a brilliant sense of humor or magical powers (although these may help). Instead, it starts by admitting that communication and relationships are critical to success, and that there's room for improvement for yourself and your team. If you admit it's important, then you'll want to understand where most communication problems occur and learn how to deal with them.