No matter your management seniority in the corporate world, chances are you’re still a middle manager squeezed between the CEO or the board and your teams.
That’s what I’ve experienced throughout my career as an executive in the tech industry. Over the years, I’ve learned to become more than a bridge between the top and everyone else.
Sadly, I’ve seen many managers succumb to the temptation of becoming just a pass-through, a messenger. That was a sure recipe for disaster, and soon, their credibility was gone.
I soon realized I could do better than just passing information. I’d be better off generating insights and communicating these effectively to respective players.
It meant learning how to process information, filter it, and provide context. It also involved extracting the most substantial parts and adding a personal perspective to my communication, both up and down the chain of command.
Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:
Relevant and Actionable with Top Executives
In my communication with the bosses, I’ve learned to focus on what was relevant to them: in other words, what would impact them one way or another. The insights I gave them aimed at facilitating their informed decision-making.
With that in mind, my communication on any team achievement or win had the filter of how they aligned with broader business objectives. For instance, we once had identified significant cost restructuring opportunities in my business unit. I translated this into how much impact it had on the company’s bottom line.
Along the same lines, I would offer some version of a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) for updates about my organization’s performance. That helped outline our action plan and give proper context to any resource or support request.
Project updates differed slightly; most companies heavily monitor them with milestones, commitments, and status. Yet, I made a point to go farther than the templated views and would outline both the steps and what it would take to bring troubled projects back on track.
Transparent and Authentic with My Team
Transparency and authenticity are proven foundations of outstanding leadership. Here’s how I’ve tried to embody these principles and strengthen my team’s trust:
Authenticity entailed being genuine in my interactions with the team. Rather than robotically disseminating information, I filled my communication with humanity and empathy. Some news or top decisions were hard on the team. So, I would share them compassionately and encourage open discussion.
On the other end, transparency differed from sharing everything; it was first about being honest and forthcoming. It also meant I had to clarify when I could not share specific information due to valid reasons, such as confidentiality.
I’ve kept these two principles in mind for any communication with the team, whether I was cascading leadership decisions, sharing people updates, or providing business updates. As importantly, I offered my honest perspective on the rationale and gave as much context as possible. It fostered deeper conversations and anchored trust.
Did it all work out?
Not always. A few top leaders never cared about my part of the business. Some team members didn’t trust me because I was one of these “executive evils.”
Yet, It didn’t prevent me from standing up in front of them all, taking responsibility for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Sharing good news is easy. The greatest leadership test is when the time comes to be accountable for failures, stand up in front of your teams, and face difficult questions.
It only helps to handle that communication by being relevant, transparent, and authentic.