Episode Transcript
You’re a little anxious and having some trouble focusing on your work. Because today’s the day you’ll be talking with one of the senior leaders in your organization.
And although you’re the expert on your project and you know it inside and out, getting the right messageacross to senior leaders is nerve-wracking.
Talking to higher level leaders always comes with a certain amount of anxiety.
Whether you’re an early career engineer meeting with a first line supervisor or a late career engineer meeting with an executive in the c-suite.
How Your Engineering Career Benefits from Interacting with Senior Leaders
So you’re dreading this particular encounter today with this senior leader because, well, it’s scary.
It’s scary because this person has much more experience than you. They come from a different perspective.
And you’ll have to be really good at reading them.
What’ll they be most focused on? What questions will they ask?
It’s scary because you have to convey the right message succinctly.
The time is short. And the pressure is on.
But meeting with a senior leader shouldn’t be something you dread.
Instead it’s an opportunity.
It’ll step up your career by allowing you to be seen and heard.
It’s an opportunity for you to have impact on the organization.
It’s an opportunity for you to share your work with upper levels of management. To let them know about your projects and your role.
And it’s an opportunity to see things from a senior leader’s perspective. To learn how good leaders interact and operate.
To gain insight into a potential future for yourself and your engineering career.
To help you get ready to talk with higher level leaders, I’ll share some insights that’ll calm your anxiety and make your meeting more effective.
10 Insights for Empowering Meetings with Senior Leaders
Here are 10 insights to make sure your meetings with senior leaders are empowering and help step up your engineering career.
- Don’t be intimidated by hierarchy.
Even though there’s a difference in rank, we are all just people. Avoid the pedestal view.
Be respectful, of course, but speak as a member of the same team. Speak person to person rather than subordinate to superior.
- Take a big picture perspective.
Your project is just one piece of the larger picture. One portion of the senior leader’s purview.
Try to see things from that viewpoint.
Realize that this leader probably doesn’t know any details about your work and is more concerned about what it’s worth in the grand scheme.
How it fits into the mission and the success of the organization.
- Learn about this person ahead of time.
Find out as much as you can about the leader you’re meeting with. Know something about their style and preferences so you can tailor your talk accordingly.
Practice talking with leaders below the senior level so they can help prepare you and give you more insight.
- Give them what they need.
Whether you’re asking for the senior leader’s decision or just providing information, help them help you by giving them what they need.
For example, state a clear objective up front. “The purpose of this meeting is…” or “This meeting will be successful if…”
Also make a connection between where the leader is to the topic at hand. So they can more quickly see the relevance.
Make sure you explain the value of your work as well as how it’s going. This is what they’re looking for.
- Show your understanding, judgement and conviction.
Senior leaders want to see that you understand the material you’re presenting and have good judgement about it.
Rather than just using descriptive words to make it look and sound good, use more precise language. Balance your excitement for your work with acumen and credibility.
Also show your conviction. That you truly believe what you say.
- Expect them to drive the presentation.
Your senior leader’s time will be short. And they’ll want to get all they can out of the information you’re presenting.
So expect them to drive to the main point.
Minimize any background information. They’ll ask for more if they want it.
Expect to be interrupted. Don’t take it personally.
Don’t be surprised if you have to jump around from topic to topic instead of following your planned sequence.
You’ll probably have questions fired at you. Answer directly. And ask any clarifying questions so there’s no confusion about what they’re looking for.
- Know your data.
Know your data and how it fits into the big picture. This goes a long way to show your understanding and credibility.
If there’s a mistake, you can bet your senior leader will find it. So double check the numbers and be able to explain them.
If there’s a question you can’t answer, don’t guess. Instead tell them you’ll look into it and get back with them.
- Know your key message.
Know your key message and make sure it’s communicated loud and clear.
Know all the most important points so you can stay on track when you get interrupted and have to jump in and out of the presentation.
That way if you end up with even less time than what was scheduled (which often happens), your meeting will be successful even if you don’t get to all the details.
- Be aware of differences in communication styles.
Depending on cultures and backgrounds, people have different styles of speaking. While no one style is best, the style you use may affect your message.
In my experience these differences are common between women and men.
Pay attention to how your senior leader reads your style. And how it affects how they perceive your assertiveness, achievement, authority, or credibility.
This will help you in future encounters.
- Note what went well and what didn’t.
Finally assess how the meeting went overall and use it as a learning opportunity.
It won’t be perfect. So learn from what didn’t go so well and make improvements for next time.
Also make note of all the things that did go well and put them on your ta-da list.
If others were there, get their input on how it went. And to get the most out of the experience, discuss the results with a mentor or another leader.
Challenge Yourself to Interact with Senior Leaders in Your Engineering Career
How you interact with senior leaders is an indicator of your engineering career success. I challenge you to do more of this.
And I’m happy to help you strategize here. You can sign up for a strategy session with me. And we can come up with an action plan that works with your particular career situation.
You should take the opportunity to interact with senior leaders because it builds the relationships you need to realize your engineering career vision.
Use today’s insights to hone your communication and leadership skills.
You’ll get exposed to higher level leadership positions that’ll likely become available to you someday.
And open doors that lead you to your dream career.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll talk more about the big picture. And how you can develop that perspective for your career success.
Be sure to join me for Episode 120.