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 C-Speak Communicating Effectively with the C-Suite
by Muriel Maignan Wilkins Co-founder and Principal of Isis Associates
From the Client: “In my role, I am required to interact with senior level individuals both within and outside of my organization. These executives often have far more industry experience than me and are 10 – 20 years my senior. I am typically confident in dealing with others but effectively influencing the C-suite in high stakes situations is often daunting to me. Do you have some tips or tactics on how to deal with these types of situations?”
From the Coach’s Corner: Whether you are a rising star in your organization finding yourself in more meetings in the C-suite or a newly minted manager in a professional services firm that requires you to influence and sell to top executives, learning to communicate with the C-suite is a new competency to grasp. Through our experience coaching executives, it is clear this skill comes with ease for some, but for most it requires venturing into a new language altogether. As a start, there are core principles that one must embrace to master the language known as
“C-SPEAK.” C – Confident vs. Compensate: Projecting confidence delivers a different impact on others than when one tries to over-compensate. Confidence comes from knowing what one brings to the table and a comfort level with who he is. Compensating appears more like fraud--one who is trying to be something he is not – that quickly diminishes credibility. When dealing with the C-suite, be secure of how your role can add value and bring knowledge. Do not over-compensate by overspeaking, overqualifying and proving why you are there.
S – Synthesize Outcomes vs. Summarize Outputs: C-level executives tell us they wish others would focus on giving them the “key take-aways” rather than all the factual details when communicating with them. There is a difference when one synthesizes the outcomes vs. summarizing the output. The latter sounds like “On Monday we completed the IT process project. We then passed the data to the operations team for further investigation on how it might help them. We estimate to be completed by next month.” The former sounds like: “With the completion of the IT process project, there are two main areas that may be of interest to you. The first are the financial implications – we estimate savings of over $2.5 million over the next 18 months. The second point is the project will free up production capacity for the operations group, enabling them to support the strategic objectives set by the executive committee earlier this year.” Notice the difference. Synthesis of outcomes grabs attention.
P - Strategic Perspective vs. Myopic Perspective: When dealing with the C-suite, you must helicopter up and adapt to their perspective. Often this requires taking a strategic perspective, looking at ideas and actions through the lens of a longer time horizon, the competitive landscape and the implications on the overall business. Gaining a strategic perspective begins with a firm understanding of what the organization’s strategy and the executive suite’s agenda are. Only then will you be able to anchor your points and ideas in their sphere of interest rather than your own.
E – Engage vs. Educate: In an effort to make a good impression in the C-suite, I have seen far too many individuals focus solely on “educating” the executives with everything that they know rather than focusing on engaging their audience. What is the difference? Educating can be a one-sided, “show and tell” communication style. Engaging invokes getting both parties to participate and take interest in the communication. It lays the foundation for building a relationship rather than a transactional conversation. Beware of falling into lecture mode while neglecting what you may learn from what the C-suite has to say to you.
A – Asking vs. Avoiding Questions: This is not the old adage, “there is no stupid question.” Rather, this is to support the fact that there are smart questions that can help facilitate a discussion, demonstrate strength in your thinking, and help reframe an executive’s own point of view on the matter at hand. Do not avoid all questions. Instead, ask questions that uncover insights, clarify the C-suite’s perspective, and inform your own.
K – Know What You Know vs. What You Don’t Know: Trying to “fake” one’s way through a topic one knows nothing about is a show stopper. While you do not want every other word to be “I don’t know,” you certainly want to be transparent about where your knowledge strength lies. Focus on communicating what it is that you do know about the topic rather than the gaps in your knowledge. For example, “I don’t have data to support that idea but what I do know is that our experience with XYZ can be used as a platform to more fully understand the situation.” You’ll often surprise yourself by the depth and breadth of knowledge you do bring to a situation. Muriel Maignan Wilkins is the co-founder and principal of Isis Associates
(www.isisiassociates.com), an executive coaching and leadership development firm specialized in transforming emerging leaders into exceptional leaders. You can reach her at
info@isisassociates.com. |
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