Unlock the potential of your team with the most underrated tool in your arsenal—conversation. Regular, strategic communication is a key driver for reducing risk, enhancing productivity, and ensuring alignment within teams.
Holding routine, purposeful, one-on-one and team meetings is a practice that is rarely done well or consistently. The problem exacerbates the higher you get in the organization. There is an expectation that the more senior one becomes, the more they can accomplish with ever diminishing direction.
While this is sound on the surface, the reasoning that translates this into a need for less communication is misguided. As humans, we learn to recognize patterns, to anticipate and pivot, we get faster, more confident, our decisions improve. Yet, we remain unable to read minds and benefit from clear communication.
While the nature of one-on-one meetings and conversations should evolve with an individual’s level, they should remain a constant fixture. Cutting out these dialogues can create assumptions and misunderstandings, paving the way for misalignment and mistakes. It’s critical to adapt the nature of your conversations to maximize efficiency and productivity.
🤴Executive Leadership: Ask strategic, broad vision questions.
- What strategic objectives are you prioritizing?
- What major challenges do you foresee?
- How can the organization support your strategic direction?
☀️Senior Management: Focus on operational insights.
- What are the key results you’re aiming for this quarter?
- How do your goals support the overall strategy?
- How can I assist in overcoming barriers?
✨Middle Management: Focus on operational detail and team insights.
- What specific projects are you leading to achieve your objectives?
- How are you ensuring your team’s efforts are aligned with dept. goals?
- What support does your team need from management?
🌟Team Leader: Focus on task-oriented team dynamics.
- What tasks are your team prioritizing?
- How are you measuring progress towards your goals?
- What does your team need to be more effective?
⭐Individual contributor: Stay detailed and execution focused.
- What specific actions are you taking to meet your goals?
- Discuss the steps you’re taking to complete your current project?
- What obstacles are you facing, and how can I help?
The above examples will get you started. Notice that every conversation begins with alignment on priorities and ends with questions about help and resources. In between you use probing questions to get relevant details.
If you aren’t having these meetings with your team, it is time to start. And if you aren’t having these conversations with your leader, it is time to make some noise.
Want some help? Let’s talk more about it.
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Based in New England but working with clients across the globe. I am dedicated to transforming visionary ideas into tangible, successful outcomes. Let’s connect and discuss how we can elevate your product management to new heights.
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