Engaging into conversations with fellow colleagues, I’ve quite often encountered discussions falling into weird deadlocks. This could be happening in 1-1s with direct reports, or during more wide meetings, planning for the future.
The awkward state
I might have strong opinion over several topics, but I push myself into not jumping to solutions quite yet, building space for initiatives and new directions. Both are important ingredients for both personal development, and a way to foster ideas for the company’s wellbeing and future growth.
A few questions I might be asking:
“So, what do you think we should do next?”
“What are your goals for the next quarter?”
“What are the areas you would like to focus on in the next few years?”
And every so often, the answer is a bit disarming:
“It depends on what the company wants”
“It depends on the company’s priorities”
At this point things get messy. Who can actually say what the company wants in such a vague context? I mean, think about your current job. If I ask you this question, can you actually give a clear answer? I am not that sure that sales, marketing, development, support, product, engineering they all have the same goals, to be able to answer such a vague question with confidence, and make it actionable (except some standards, like revenue growth, more customers etc.).
And it gets even worse. Aren’t we all part of the same company? By saying “what the company wants”, you place yourself outside the company. It’s you and them (the company).
A few questions I might be asking:
“So, what do you think we should do next?”
“What are your goals for the next quarter?”
“What are the areas you would like to focus on in the next few years?”
And every so often, the answer is a bit disarming:
“It depends on what the company wants”
“It depends on the company’s priorities”
At this point things get messy. Who can actually say what the company wants in such a vague context? I mean, think about your current job. If I ask you this question, can you actually give a clear answer? I am not that sure that sales, marketing, development, support, product, engineering they all have the same goals, to be able to answer such a vague question with confidence, and make it actionable (except some standards, like revenue growth, more customers etc.).
And it gets even worse. Aren’t we all part of the same company? By saying “what the company wants”, you place yourself outside the company. It’s you and them (the company).
Rephrasing towards action
Let’s rephrase this a bit and see how we can improve it.
Question:
“What do you think we should do next?”
Possible answer:
“It depends on what the CEO wants”
“It depends on what the product team wants”
“It depends on your priorities and goals for the next quarter, as my manager”
This way, the other party, is transitioning the conversation from an abstract, vague dead end, to a constructive iterative process. For example:
“So, let me explain to you what the CEO wants to achieve…”
“That’s fair, let me talk to the product team, and I will get back to you with more information”
“My goals for the next quarter are this and that. How do you think we can get there?”
Better, right? Behind the “company”, it’s people. And it is better to address people, specific people, than something non-tangible like the company as a whole.
So, next time you get into this type of conversation, my advise is to make it personal. Make it specific. Because the specificity can lead to action and results. Vagueness can lead to more vagueness, and an easy way out from tough discussions.
- Nikos Vasileiou
Question:
“What do you think we should do next?”
Possible answer:
“It depends on what the CEO wants”
“It depends on what the product team wants”
“It depends on your priorities and goals for the next quarter, as my manager”
This way, the other party, is transitioning the conversation from an abstract, vague dead end, to a constructive iterative process. For example:
“So, let me explain to you what the CEO wants to achieve…”
“That’s fair, let me talk to the product team, and I will get back to you with more information”
“My goals for the next quarter are this and that. How do you think we can get there?”
Better, right? Behind the “company”, it’s people. And it is better to address people, specific people, than something non-tangible like the company as a whole.
So, next time you get into this type of conversation, my advise is to make it personal. Make it specific. Because the specificity can lead to action and results. Vagueness can lead to more vagueness, and an easy way out from tough discussions.
- Nikos Vasileiou