As most project managers will tell you, the essential element of project management is communication. Beyond the schedules, budgets, WBS creation, and finding the best resources for your project, nothing can sink a project like poor communication.
Communication is not simply relevant to the members of the project team, but also critical to the key stakeholders and sponsor too. How often have you noticed that a discussion that was held this morning has morphed into something that was either taken out of context or is based on something that was never actually discussed.
As project managers, it is important to ensure that we act as the point of contact for all formal communication and that we take the initiative to speak to the primary stakeholders, preferably in person or at least via telephone or video on a regular basis - which should be weekly at a minimum.
This means that the PM has on-going meetings with members of the project team and with the stakeholders, and that the PM is the first, rather than the last, to know when an issue arises and has already begun to propose solutions and prepare to reslove the issues.
