Communicating With Your team — People Don’t Resist Change, They Resist Being Forced

How Project Managers Can Break Through Internal Communication Barriers

As project managers, our work revolves around people.We build project teams, assign tasks, resolve conflicts, collect progress updates, and coordinate with various stakeholders. In most cases, 80% of the problems in a project come from communication.Whether communication flows smoothly often determines whether a project succeeds or breaks down.

Good communication aligns the team’s thinking and direction.Poor communication breeds misunderstandings, conflict, resentment, and endless obstacles.

Based on my personal experiences, this article discusses a fundamental question:What should a project manager do when communication runs into resistance?

Where communication barriers come from determines how you solve them.Inside a project, communication typically happens with three groups:

1. Upper management (Sponsor / Owner)

2. Parallel departments

3. The project team

1. Communicating With Upper Management: The Most Urgent and Most Critical Layer

If communication with your sponsor or owner breaks down, it becomes the highest-priority issue.Their support directly influences:

• Whether you get the resources you need

• Whether other departments cooperate

• Whether your own team trusts your leadership

Communication barriers with leadership often come from differences in understanding, interests, or trust.

1) Understanding Issues: See Things From Their Perspective

Misaligned understanding is extremely common.

For example:A project manager thinks a delay is caused by the client.But the sponsor believes client management itself is part of project management.

To fix understanding gaps:

• Align expectations before major decisions

• Communicate using language and metrics the leader cares about

• Proactively highlight potential blind spots or risks

Early clarification is always better than late correction.

2) Interest Misalignment: Identify What Really Matters to Them

Most of the time, your goals and your leader’s goals are aligned.But in specific situations, organizational politics or personal priorities may influence their preferred approach.

If you know their underlying drivers, aligning is easy.If not:

Best approach:

• Follow standard process and execute

• Then revisit the decision to clarify rationale

• If the resistant stakeholder is not your direct leader, escalate through your own manager to influence indirectly

Interest issues are about understanding “what’s better for them,” not “how to win an argument.”

3) Trust Issues: The Hardest, Yet the Most Important

Trust barriers are the most difficult.They may come from past deviations, mismatched expectations, or lack of transparency.

There is only one sustainable fix:Rebuild trust by consistently delivering on small commitments.

What you should do:

• Review past issues honestly

• Communicate openly about what will change

• In upcoming tasks, never break even the smallest promise

• Increase the frequency of touchpoints instead of avoiding them

Trust is built through time and behavior—not through explanations.

2. Communicating With Parallel Departments: Align Goals, Reduce Friction

When dealing with peers from other departments, communication resistance usually falls into three categories.

1) Lack of Alignment Between Department Leaders

If the leaders of both departments haven’t aligned—or worse, are in conflict—the project manager will naturally struggle to gain support.

Solutions:

• Escalate the alignment issue

• Let senior management unify goals

• Or seek alternative resources (e.g., outsourcing part of the work)

2) Unequal Distribution of Interests or Workload

If the cost–benefit ratio feels unfair, the other department will hesitate to support.

Solutions:

• Reevaluate the distribution of responsibilities and benefits

• Let the leaders jointly redefine the collaboration model

• If redistribution still doesn’t work, the root cause is elsewhere

3) Process Issues: The Easiest to Fix

Ambiguous workflow, unclear responsibilities, and lack of checkpoints are the real killers of cross-team cooperation.

Fix it by:

• Building a joint workflow

• Defining each step’s owner

• Holding a kickoff meeting to explain and train on the process

Clear processes reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.

3. Communicating With the Project Team: Focus on Understanding, Ability, and Incentives

Team-level communication barriers can be classified as single-point or systemic issues.

1) If It’s a Single-Point Issue, It Usually Comes From One of Three Origins

a) Understanding Problems

Members misunderstand tasks, priorities, or expectations.— This requires clarification, not blame.

b) Capability Mismatch

Sometimes the task exceeds the team member’s abilities.People rarely admit “I can’t,” but they will:delay, avoid, or find excuses.— Adjust the task or provide support instead of applying pressure.

c) Incentive Problems

If effort and outcome are disconnected, motivation drops.— Make contribution visible and meaningful.

2) If Multiple Members Are Struggling, It’s a Structural Issue

This typically comes from:

a) Strategy Problems

Overly aggressive schedules burn out the team and create collective frustration.— Recalibrate the pace.

b) Management Style Issues

Micromanagement or overly rigid communication creates resistance.— Reflect and adjust.

c) Distribution Problems

Unfair workload or unclear reward mechanisms lead to widespread dissatisfaction.— Rebuild fairness and transparency.

Conclusion: Project Management Is the Art of Influence, Not the Art of Commands

If you want your team to execute, don’t rely on authority—rely on alignment.If you want change, don’t issue orders—create participation.

Remember this:

People don’t resist change; they resist being forced to change.

When you involve the team in decisions, explain the “why,” and give them ownership, resistance naturally disappears.Clear communication builds trust.Trust creates alignment.Alignment drives execution.

As project managers, we are not commanders.We are:Influencers, facilitators, connectors, listeners, negotiators, and leaders.

May your communication become smoother and your team more united as your influence grows.