We do an enormous amount of writing here about how to prepare well, and not waste other people’s time… especially if that person is your boss. We all know how important it is to be able to communicate well to people above you on the org chart.
But let’s flip that around for a moment. Now you are the boss. And you don’t want your time wasted. You want your team to be able to get to the point with you, anticipate your questions, and communicate with you in an effective way. My colleagues and I can coach them on how to not waste your time. But so can you. If you want efficiency in your organization, consider spending some time writing down the things that you always appreciate knowing, the questions you always want answers to. If you like your information in a certain way, write that down also. If there is a certain statistic that matters to you, write that down.
And once you have accumulated this list of things that you rely on or care about, you know what you should do next? Share… it… with… your… team.
Don’t be mysterious about it. If there are some things that matter to you, make those things known. Help them help you.
Here is how I think about it… if someone on my team has something they want to pitch me, if they are prepared for that conversation, they can usually get me on board (or at least open to continuing the conversation) in about 10 minutes. If it takes longer than that, then it is highly possible that they weren’t prepared enough. History backs me up on this.
So, if you want your team to respect your time, don’t leave it to them to figure out how to connect with you. Don’t be mysterious. We aren’t mapping the human genome here. Make it easy for them. If there are things that are important to you, tell them what they are. Everyone wins.
Have a great day.
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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?
Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?
Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?
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