Last week, The
Inside Voice interviewed Roberta Fiore-Kittell, an Executive Coach and Partner
at OptimaHR. Roberta provides insight and tips to help HR managers better
communicate with senior management. Today’s blog is the second of two parts.
Speak Up! Tips to Better
Communicate with Senior Management (Part Two)
Interview with
Roberta Fiore-Kittell, Partner, OptimaHR
What are some tips on
how to get senior managers to pay attention to what we need to tell them?
I always go into a senior manager
meeting with a one-pager that we discuss and it also serves as a leave-behind.
I may have the background information behind it, but everything can be
condensed to one page.
It is critical that you spend the
same amount of thought on the preparation as the meeting. Very senior managers
prepare for conversations, just as they do for presentations. For every hour of
a meeting, you need 30 to 60 minutes minimum to prepare so you can be very
clear on what you want to communicate, what questions you want to ask, what questions
you are going to be asked, what are the most important takeaways that need to
happen in a meeting. A sports analogy comes to mind: Your preparation is the
amount of “practice” you are willing to do to get ready for the big game (the
meeting). And, just like in sports, you
don’t get a do-over if you blow the game (the meeting). The book It’s Not What
You Say, It’s How You Say It by Joan Detz is a great book that explains this.
How do you determine
the best vehicle to use to communicate with senior management?
Start by asking yourself a few
questions. Know your purpose: Is it to inform? To get buy in? Is it just an
FYI? For complex issues, the only time you want to put anything in writing is
to prepare them in advance so you use your time efficiently. You should think
about how you can most succinctly communicate. Is that in an email or another
type of communication?
Then work through understanding the
background. What’s the outcome I want to have happen as a result of what I’m
telling you? And what are the steps I am asking to take? And then what’s next?
What are the key takeaways that I want as a result of this meeting?
That’s a lot of information you’ll
have to present. So write what you want to say, then put your communications on
a diet. The number one complaint senior leaders have is that people who come to
them are too much in the weeds giving them too many details. Senior managers
don’t want to know that much detail.
What are the biggest
considerations that HR managers should keep in mind as they communicate and
interact with the senior managers?
The top tips I’d recommend for HR
managers:
1. Be prepared and be clear. Have a
framework for your communication, whether it is written, a presentation or a
conversation. Most people should have a set way of preparing.
2. Know your audience. Ask what information
they’re looking for and how they want to receive the information in advance.
Know the “secret handshake” – how they communicate, what they value and what
they don’t value.
3. Good presentations are good conversations.
Don’t be one-sided. Engage your audience. Listen to them. Make it interesting
and make it a dialogue to get engaged.
What
has worked for you in communicating with senior management? Do you have tips
that have proven to be successful for you? Click on the comment box below and
add your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.
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