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How To Speak “Management”

For most people, picking up a new language is a challenging task, no matter how smart they are.  Gaining proper eloquence, learning the nuances – it can take years of practice.

However, there is one language you can pick up in a matter of hours, and while it may be most relevant for only a select number of people, it may have more to do with your professional development (and possible promotion) than any other language you could acquire.  What language is this? “Management.”

    Yeah, those people   
    “up there” have their
    own language… 

 

This article will attempt to offer an introduction to the language called “management,” by presenting some of the key words in this language’s vocabulary. Remember, language is more than just a means of communication; it’s also represents mindset, and effective management is all about being in the right mindset.

This language can be picked up in a matter of hours and used fluently in a matter of weeks. Why? Because it doesn’t have tens of thousands of words, like regular language do, and there are only a few single grammatical rules. There is only a short list of key words you need to learn and fully internalize in order to gain ownership of this language.

Your new vocabulary list:

  • Asset
  • Burden
  • Objective
  • Milestone
  • Bottleneck
  • Force Amplifier
  • Early Indicator
  • Assumption
  • Problem Oriented
  • Solution Oriented
  • Reactive
  • Proactive
  • Descriptive
  • Analytical
  • Recommendation
  • Alternatives

Let’s get started with the most important words on this list:  Asset.

The standard definitions of the word ‘Asset’ are:
–noun

  1. A useful and desirable thing or quality: Organizational ability is an asset.
  2. A single item of ownership having exchange value.
  3. Assets,
    • Items of ownership convertible into cash; total resources of a person or business, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery or real estate (opposed to liabilities).
    • Accounting. The items detailed on a balance sheet, esp. in relation to liabilities and capital.
    • All property available for the payment of debts, esp. of a bankrupt or insolvent firm or person.
    • Law. Property in the hands of an heir, executor, or administrator, that is sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a deceased person.

In Management, the definitions of the word “Asset” are slightly different: 

–Value

  1. The degree of your contribution to your manager’s ability to make better decisions.
  2. The enhancement you bring to the overall resources your managers have available.

Management is about a whole list of challenges that relate to vision building, resource allocation, team building, and more.  But at the heart of all of these challenges, there’s one fundamental core-challenge: decision-making. 

If you want to speak fluent management , you need to understand that your message has to be directly related to the most pressing decisions that decision-makers are facing at that time, in context of the Objectives “they” are trying to achieve.

When your message does not relate to these pressing decisions, you will quickly be tagged as a Burden, a vocabulary word you want to avoid. However, if you consistently ensure that your message is directly related to the pressing decisions they are facing, and if you construct your message in a way that helps them make better decisions, you will quickly be tagged as an Asset.

Remember, being an Asset is about enhancing other people’s ability to make better decisions.

The first thing about being an Asset, has to do with your own orientation.  Which has more of your attention: the problem at hand, or the possible solutions to that problem?

When you are Problem-Oriented, the nature of your message is likely to be Descriptive – offering endless details and facts about the current situation as well as the path that led up to this current situation, without any suggested solutions.  Problem orientation is about looking back, searching for excuses (and in many cases, people to blame).  Being Problem-Oriented is the fastest way to become a Burden.  Until humanity finds a way to travel back in time, the past cannot be altered, making this mindset a total waste of your manager’s time (and your time, too).

Effective managers care more about the future than the past.  When they do look into the past, it’s only in order to better shape the future. 

To ensure that you are perceived as (and are in fact) an Asset, you need to discard the Descriptive approach, and adapt a Solution-Oriented mindset, usually indicated by Analytical messages that focus on possible solutions to the current problems in a way that is based on clearly defined Assumptions, Alternatives, and Early Indicators.

Forward Framing
The fastest way to becoming Solution-Oriented and adopting an Analytical approach when speaking Management, is to always begin your message with a reference to the future, specifically relating to Objectives you know the person with whom you are communicating needs to achieve.

This is called Forward Framing – when your entire message is framed in context of the future (rather than the past).

For instance, when questioned by their managers as to why they need the extra resources they’ve recently requested (bigger budget, additional personal, etc.), most people offer Descriptive answers that relate to their current workload, and the list of problems they have due to lack of resources.  From their perspective, these problems are what they face on a daily level, so it’s understandable that they are preoccupied with them.  Their managers, however, need to keep their eyes on the bigger picture, understanding exactly how certain extra resources they approve will help meet the overall objectives they are committed to. Therefore, when you speak Management, you need to always use Forward Framing, ensuring that you always incorporate into your message an answer to the question: “why?”  Why should you be given extra resources?  Why should your recommendations be approved?

Example:

  • Question: “WHY do you need extra personnel?”
  • Problem-Oriented: “We are extremely understaffed and we’re already running behind schedule.  We can’t handle the current work load without extra personnel.”
  • Solution-Oriented: “With the extra personnel, we should be able to guarantee meeting the deadline without falling behind on the rest of our workload.”
  • Fluent Management: “If we want to secure future contracts with this client, it’s imperative that we meet the current deadline.  We can either delay some of the other projects we are currently working on – in which case, I would like to discuss prioritization with you when you have a chance – or we need to extra personnel to stay on schedule with all the current projects.”

The ability to speak Management is an extremely important tool to have in your arsenal. These few simple tricks can help you to close a big deal with a client, help decision-makers come up with the best possible solution, and maybe get you a promotion. Take a few days to learn this language; it’ll be worth it.

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Strategic Communication: Becoming an Asset in the Workplace

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to be better at your job.  While it’s super general, most don’t really know how to accomplish this goal.  What it really comes down to is your unique value to others and how you can become an asset.

The most important value of Strategic Communication is its ability to support and assist other people’s decision-making processes.

The greatest difficulty facing decision makers is the lack of resources available to support their decision-making process:  Information, Time to analyze that information, and Analytical Ability (see below: “The Decision Maker’s Dilemma”– the source of these challenges).

The Decision Maker’s Dilemma: 4 key steps to effective decision making):

  1. Define objective(s) in a tangible and objectively measurable way.
  2. Identify and generate as many different alternative paths that lead to the defined objective(s).
  3. Select preferred paths.
  4. Execute!

Strategic Communication is about you becoming a valuable resource for your environment in dealing with this process.

If you become a resource, supporting the decision makers with these challenges, you are likely to turn (in their eyes) from a mere Service Provider to a Consultant or even a Business Partner.

  • As a provider, you are perceived as a drain on your client’s resources, making you an inherently unwelcome agent.
  • As a business partner/consultant, you are perceived as an addition to your client’s resources.  You are a resource, making you a welcome agent!

Basic Principles of Strategic Communication:
Manage Expectations – Understand the objectives (beyond your own).  See and relate to the bigger picture.
Be Solution-Oriented (not problem-oriented!) – Understand, relate to, and generate additional possible courses of action.  Avoid focusing on the past or spending too much time describing the present.  Do so by:

  • Addressing the future
  • Being positive and proactive – even when you have questions, come prepared with possible answers or with your own recommendations on how to best go about finding the answers to these questions.
  • Be analytical not descriptive – present your analysis, or the simple context of the data you want to present BEFORE you present the data itself.

Remove Barriers and Bottlenecks – Simplify the ability to receive and internalize your message by:

  • Prioritizing what you have to say – every word you speak is a resource your listener is allocating to you.  Make sure your message generates a value greater than the value of the resource spent listening to you.
  • Pay attention to Logical Sequence – make sure the inner structure of your message make sense.  Make sure each part of your message builds on the previous parts.  Try to make the order of your message be in sync with the questions occupying your listener as they come up in his/her mind as they listen to you.
  • Distinguish between WORK (=process/”how”) and PRODUCT (=desired outcome/”what”) – this is an extension of the previous point:  present your conclusions and/or recommendations before you present your evidence.

Now go ahead and actually keep your resolution this year. Strive to become an asset and a big influencer at your job!

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Horrible Bosses: Not Just a Movie

Interview Warning Signs

Job interviews can be a very stressful experience. When you are being interviewed, you feel tested and like you’re being inspected through a magnifying glass. However, the candidates aren’t the only ones being scrutinized: the interviewer himself is also under your examination. While he assesses your compatibility for the position and the organization, you’re studying his compatibility as a potential boss.

How can you tell whether the person interviewing you will be a good boss? Here are the interview warning signs that will tell you the type of boss whom you don’t want to work for.

Interview Delivery Style

  • Introduction – Did he shake your hand? Or maybe you held your hand for a shake and he stayed seated while shaking hands? This is a sign of disrespect. Right from the beginning, he is showing you that he does not value you.
  • Focus & Attention – Is he attentive and present in the interview? Or is he distracted, interrupted by his PA, making calls, and reading emails during the interview? This is another sign of disrespect. The interviewer is supposed to be looking for the best employee for himself and the company.  A lot is at stake in this situation, and he can’t be bothered to take a break to concentrate on that? A clear warning sign! If this is how he acts during the interview, what will happen if you actually work for him? You need someone who gives you his undivided attention.
  • Interpersonal Communication

    • Eye Contact – Did he make eye contact during the interview? Or was he looking at your resume/CV, his computer, and off to the side the entire time? This says something about his interpersonal communication skills. This aspect does not necessarily mean he’s a bad person to work for, but it does suggest that you may have difficulties communicating while working together.
    • Facial Expressions – Did he smile when he introduced himself and throughout the interview? Or did he look solemn and stern? A lack of a smile could indicate that he is a very serious person, maybe even severe. The interviewer has the job of representing the company. His objective is to make people want to work for him and/or his company, so part of his job is to show the interviewee what work life will be like if he gets the job. A smile is so basic.
  • Patience -Did he let you fully answer questions after asking them? Or did he constantly interrupt you in the middle of a sentence? This could be an indicator of someone who is not willing to let his employees be creative, and someone who is overly controlling. Be aware of interviewers like this.

Interview Content

  • Introduction – Did he introduce himself? Name, position, vision, etc.  It may sound very basic, but sometimes it is overlooked. An interviewer’s duty is to introduce himself. If he didn’t, it may imply that it wasn’t important enough for him. If this person was speaking with a potential client, you can be sure that and introduction would be important, so how can he forget it when interviewing a potential employee?
  • Professional vs. Personal – Were all of the questions purely professional? Or did he take the time to get to know about you as a person? In an interview, it is obvious that you will be asked about your professional experience and knowledge. However, an interview is also meant to get to know the person behind the profession, to see if his personality will mesh with the company climate and mentality. An interviewer who doesn’t ask a few personal questions to get to know the person in front of him is a warning sign.
  • Appropriate Questions – Were the questions all appropriate? Or did the interviewer ask questions that got too personal, such as asking about marital status and age? While some personal questions, such as your hobbies and interests, are appropriate, some questions cross the line. If you feel uncomfortable during the interview, chances are you’ll also feel uncomfortable if you take the job.

After you finished the interview, what is the process going forward?

  • Did he ask you if you had any questions at the end? Or did he just rush to finish the interview? A good employer will want to give you as much information as possible. If he’s hurrying you along, he clearly does not want you to ask questions.
  • How long did he speak, and how long did you speak? You as an interviewee need to speak more than the interviewer did. The interview is the process by which a potential employer gets to know you. If he talked too much about himself, this is probably not a good fit for you.
  • Pay attention to the order of the interviewer questions. For example: if one of the firsts questions he asks is about how many hours you worked per day at your last job, rather than what you did during those hours, you can tell that he is just looking for someone to give as many hours as possible. The order of the questions can indicate his priorities and needs.

Take these warning signs into account before your next interview. Regardless of whether or not you feel a job is a good fit for you, an interviewer should not be trying to make you uncomfortable. If you get a bad vibe from the interviewer, chances are it’s not a good fit for you. Move on, and find the right employer and company for you.