After dozens of programs, I’ve learned that misalignment is rarely about bad intent—it’s about inconsistent signals. Here’s the communication cadence that keeps leaders confident and teams protected.
Cadence by audience
- Core team: 30 minutes weekly, operational. Decisions needed, blockers, RAID updates, next week’s priorities.
- Steering committee: 45–60 minutes biweekly. Top risks, scope changes, milestone forecast, decisions/approvals.
- Executives/regulators: 30 minutes monthly or as required. Outcomes vs. KPIs, compliance status, key escalations, funding.
Artifacts that travel well
- One-page status with RAG, key milestones, forecast, top three risks/issues, asks/decisions.
- Decision log with date, owner, context, and follow-up actions.
- Change log tied to scope, schedule, cost; include impact and approval path.
- Risk radar summarizing trends (improving, stable, worsening).
Principles I follow
- Predictability: send updates same time every week; no surprises in the meeting that weren’t previewed.
- Traceability: link every major decision to a log entry and owner.
- Audience-first: executives get outcomes and impacts; teams get detail and next steps.
- Asynchronous first: circulate updates 24 hours before meetings; meetings are for discussion and approvals.
Handling tough news
- Lead with impact, then the driver, then options and your recommendation.
- Quantify schedule/cost deltas; show the risk and mitigation if we delay decisions.
- Capture dissent and the chosen path in the decision log.
Consistent cadence builds trust. When stakeholders know when and how they’ll hear from you, they engage earlier, and approvals move faster.