Senior Management Blind Spots: Setting Communication Expectations
Part Two of How Leaders Can Improve Communication from Technical Experts
Most technical professionals walk into the room to give a presentation assuming they know what the boss’s boss wants, only to painfully discover that the expectations were never clear in the first place. Senior management rarely sets out to confuse their technical staff; however, confusion is exactly what happens when expectations for a presentation are left vague or unspoken. Part Two of this series tackles setting communication expectations so technical experts can communicate with precision rather than guess what matters.
Set Communication Expectations Explicitly
“Why did I have to cut off that young staff member?” I asked the division director, Tim.
“Well, he’s just that way,” shrugged Tim.
“That way, hell! You picked him.” I responded. “It was supposed to be a 15-minute presentation with 15 minutes of Q&A. He showed up with 40 slides! There is no way that you or the department manager reviewed that presentation or set expectations.”
“Well, we talked about it,” shrugged Tim again. “We’ll have to do a better job next time. I am not sure he is the right one to be doing a presentation anyway.”
“Maybe not, but none of your young techies are going to get better without understanding what they are supposed to be doing,” I stated. “Let’s sit down and make a written plan for how you and your department managers can train and set expectations. Learning by trial-and-error is not going to work.”
Why Was I Asked to Present?
A responsibility of the boss’s boss is to set expectations explicitly. After all, someone called the technical professional to provide details related to some specific subject (the technical professional did not barge into the discussion). The expectations should be provided to the technical professional. From a leadership perspective, letting the technical professional come up with everything except the topic is ridiculous.
Being an effective presenter requires more than being an expert.
When working with technical professionals, I stress that they should understand why they were asked to do any given presentation. Simply presuming it is “because I am the expert on solar energy” or “because I am in charge of the nutrients research group” is not enough. The technical professional should ask for the details if they desire to be effective communicators. However, it is the responsibility of the decision maker to explicitly state why the technical professional has been asked to present at the meeting.
Why We Don’t Set Expectations
There are several reasons why decision makers say they are not explicit. The first and most obvious is “because that is how we have always done it.” In other words, if we are making decisions on transportation, then someone from the transportation department provides information. If we are discussing investing in a new conveyor belt system, then an operations specialist appears before us with the data. Many organizations simply do not question the ritual.
We do not have to be a communications expert to provide our staff with expectations.
A second reason is the boss’s boss relies on the boss to work out the communication specifics. This is really a subset of “I just do not think about that.” If the boss’s boss was really thinking about it, they would realize that many of their direct reports are not themselves good communicators, much less being good at instructing someone else.
A third reason is that the boss’s boss is not ready to make a decision. They do not intend to make an allocation of resources, so the information that is being presented merely helps develop an intended course of action. One good thing about public meetings before boards and commissions is the agenda is usually flagged with “action items” and “information items,” which at least gives the technical professional some stated insight beyond the topic. That is still not enough concerning expectations. In most business settings, even the action versus information status is not provided.
Essentials for the Boss’s Boss
Expectations are a two-way street. The boss’s boss, who called the meeting, should be setting the agenda. On the other hand, the messenger should not understand the point of the presentation if they intend to communicate effectively. Theory and practice do not match. Both parties must work hard to avoid a gap.
Provide the purpose of the presentation in advance. Do not assume “this is the way we always do it.”
The boss’s boss needs to set the purpose of the presentation. The expected outcomes, including whether the presentation is for information or for action, should be established as part of the meeting agenda. The time for the presentation and the format (with a maximum number of slides in PowerPoint) should be provided by the boss’s boss.
Most decisions are made before the presentation is given.
Getting the Best Communication from Your Experts
The perception that senior leaders don’t set communication expectations is a reality. We do not have to be a communications expert to provide our staff with expectations like:
The maximum number of slides
The amount of time for the formal presentation
A Q&A strategy (including when to hand things over to other experts in the room)
Getting to the conclusion early (not all at the end)
The end game for the presentation, including how it fits into the bigger picture
There are others. But setting expectations also requires us to get engaged with their peers (to help gather direction for our staff) and to get actively involved with our staff’s presentations.
Most formal technical approaches provide detail and training on setting expectations. The FINESSE Fishbone Diagram® provides a proven, cause-and-effect communication approach for communicating technical material that supports big decisions. Embrace FINESSE. Impress upon your staff the need to communicate with FINESSE.
In the next part of this series, we turn to the third blind spot: why the boss’s boss does not give feedback.
Reference: Solomon, J. D. (2022). Communicating reliability, risk & resiliency to decision makers: How to get your boss’s boss to understand (2nd ed.). Three Degrees of Learning.
JD Solomon champions practical communication skills that help technical professionals convey complex ideas clearly and confidently. Learn more at www.jdsolomonsolutions.com and www.communicatingwithfinesse.com.
I appreciate this piece a lot. The clarity on expectations, and fewer default assumptions, would put presenters on a path to more effective communication. The awareness about this in STEM is lacking.