Executive communication

This week’s Inspirational quote and interpretation was inspired by an elusive skill set that not only have I struggled with in my personal and professional life, it is certainly one that I continue to see leaders and managers wrestle with as they navigate the challenges of middle- and senior management positions - Executive Communication. There are numerous definitions of this in the leadership literature, but for the purposes of this blog let’s simply define it as the ability to effectively know your audience and translate a wide range of data into a concise summary and/or translation that is both informative and actionable. Which brings us to one of my favorite quotes:

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” – (perhaps Mark Twain?)

The jury remains out on whether or not Mark Twain actually penned this quote. I believe he once shared in a letter to a friend remarking, “You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness – the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get a-slinging-of-wisdom and forget to let up.” Others attribute it to Pascal, or John Locke, even Ben Franklin. But regardless who said it, it still highlights that it is much easier to be effusive and verbose in communicating than it is to be succinct and to-the-point.

Story time: I recall a briefing that my direct superior, the commander of the Old Guard, was giving to his boss, a two-general who was the commander of the Military District of Washington. It was a relatively high profile briefing in late fall of 2008 – part of our security and logistical preparations for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration parade. I can’t recall the exact question that the general asked my boss, but being an extremely detail-oriented person, it had something to do with some esoteric logistical fact. The question caught my boss off-guard and he immediately turned to me for the information. Finding myself on-the-spot, but thankfully very familiar with the topic, I immediately proceeded to provide a highly detailed and comprehensive answer. When I finished, the general merely stared at me for what seemed to be an inordinate amount of time. I’m sure it was only a couple of seconds, but it felt like an eternity. As I began to sweat, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps I heard his question incorrectly and in answering, made a fool of myself in front of my boss’ boss (or worst yet, made my boss look foolish). Before my nervous breakdown commenced, the general asked me the same question again. Hmmm… Maybe I didn’t screw up? Maybe the general was distracted and didn’t hear my answer? Here was my second chance! But as soon as I jumped back onto my soapbox and started to “re-share” my highly detailed insight into this particular challenging question, the general held up his hand indicating that I should immediately stop.

You know that feeling in the very pit of your stomach – I think it’s part of our evolutionary make-up that is connected to the fight or flight sympathetic nervous system - it kind of convinces you that sometimes curling up into a fetal position like a hedgehog seems like a really good course of action right about now? Just me? Anyway, that is what I was feeling when there was no mistaking the “cease-and-desist with your explanation” hand-and-arm signal from the general. After a few more incredibly uncomfortable moments he said, “Major Weis. Let me give you a piece of advice. When you superior asks a question, he or she is typically looking for a direct answer – especially for a “yes” or “no” question. Just answer the damn question.”

Ouch… who said some of life’s lessons aren’t hard-earned ones? I distinctly recall the language being a little more colorful than I just shared. After the briefing, my boss pulled me off to the side, and with a casual smile said, “I bet you won’t make that mistake again, huh?”

Executive communication is not quite the same as normal communication. The atmosphere is charged with a different level of energy. It’s intense and expectant. The pace is quicker because there is typically no time to waste on the normal pleasantries. Senior executives also tend to read situations more quickly. They place a premium on their time – both on how they use it and how others use it. Their experience and background helps fill in the gaps to rapidly decipher disparate information and find the core meaning. They don’t have time to sift through extensive background content in order to discover the bottom line – they want it up front. In even some of the most complicated and consequential situations, they depend on their trusted team of thoroughbreds to summarize the key data and outline the potential courses of actions with thoughtful cost-benefit recommendations.

In my humorous and embarrassing situation above, I had made two of the cardinal sins in executive communication. First, I didn’t consider my audience. Was I briefing someone who prefers lots of context and details, or someone who instead prefers just the big picture? Perhaps it’s someone in between? In any regard, part of your executive communication skill set is recognizing the differences in needs with respect to who you are providing the information for. The same exact brief may need to be tailored and customized in order to address the particular needs of who exactly is receiving the briefing.

The second mistake I made was in trying to be over-comprehensive in my answer. I was so proud to know all of the intricacies of this particular situation, I was sure that my boss’ boss couldn’t help but be impressed by my knowledge on the topic. He had asked a simple question and instead of truly hearing and acknowledging his specific request, I overcomplicated the situation by providing all of the rationale and justification that was needed to put the answer in context. The problem was, he wasn’t interested in the context – he just wanted the answer.

It took a few literal and figurative scars for me to understand the nuances of executive communication. Although, the length of this blog may contradict my intended message for this topic, developing your expertise in this type of verbal and written messaging is critical if you want to extend your influence and value vertically within your organization. Some of my hard-earned lessons-learned include:

· As you prepare your message (either verbal or written), force yourself to consider and prioritize their perspective over yours – What exactly do they need to know about X?

o Do your best to anticipate their questions and have some answers prepared.

o Have someone review your message – for completeness (did I answer the question?), logic (does my answer make sense – is it actionable?), and clarity (lots of credibility can be ruined by typographical errors).

· Do your homework:

o Know your audience – Do they prefer lots of context and background or more to-the-point and bottom-line-up-front? If you don’t know their preference, ask around. A great source is their Executive Assistants.

o Just in case, make sure you always have the details and context handy (or in your back-up file).

o Remember, you build trust (and value) by giving them what they need.

· Be honest, humble, and straight forward:

o Avoid opportunities to tap dance and SWAG (scientific wild @$* guess) an answer. This can be an unrecoverable mistake – and executives tend to have a fairly developed BS meter. If you don’t know, take a note and prioritize returning with an answer ASAP.

o You can save a lot of time and space by following the maxim: KIS – Keep It Simple.

As Mark Twain (or some other famous person from history) alluded to in our initial quote, it is infinitely easier to over-explain something than it is to condense a complex message into a concise one. We always used to give my dad a hard time because he could turn a simple 30-second joke into a 15-minute rambling story. Usually by the time he rolled around to the punchline, we had either lost focus or forgot that he was telling a joke. It turned into a funny family story. Don’t let the same happen the next time you’re briefing a senior leader on a consequential topic – you don’t want to be the punchline. What are you doing today to make sure you’re answering the dang question (and enhancing your executive communication skills)?