Encoding and decoding communication competencies in project management – an exploratory study

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of project managers' competency in two core communication processes – encoding and decoding. Using data collected from 186 cross-functional project team members from a variety of industries during nationwide project management workshops, stepwise regression analyses explored the association of project managers' decoding and encoding, with team members' satisfaction and productivity. Results show a significant communication–performance relationship. Specifically, project managers' competency in decoding and encoding are significantly associated with team member satisfaction, while project managers' encoding is significantly associated with project team productivity. Implications and future directions for both researchers and practicing project managers are discussed.