I got a little stuck on my newsletter last week.
Partly, it was over-ambitious to finish it while on vacation. And partly, it didn’t feel quite right. I was going to talk about how to do stakeholder management, a.k.a managing up, but then realized I was missing a step – when to do it, and more of the why.
To accomplish your goals – completing a project, finding a new job or succeeding at your day to day work – you’ll need to involve other people, many of whom have more power and influence than you.
Yet, as discussed in my last newsletter, I’ve noticed that “stakeholder management” is uncomfortable for many talented professionals, especially those of us trained as scientists. (And if instead you’re really good at it, please pause reading and hit reply and tell me your secret!)
I remember once being asked to make a plan for the CEO. It was pretty straightforward – how to share the outputs from a day-long meeting. Yet, I perseverated and procrastinated for days.
Why?
I was uncertain. I didn’t know how much to include and wanted to get it just right. When I finally sent out a reply, I remember my manager commenting with kindness, “Next time, don’t let the grass grow under a request.”
I bring this up because (of course!) I was capable of doing high quality work and meeting deadlines, but something got in the way. Perhaps it was these thoughts:
I can’t share until it’s perfect.
And since I’m not sure what perfect looks like, when do I share?
Plus, if I don’t share, nothing bad can happen.
I was more worried about the outcome of sharing something that wasn’t right than I was paying attention to the actual circumstances, which were:
-The CEO needed simple steps to carry out promptly.
-The stakes weren’t high, and there was no reason to think I’d be blamed.
-The request was completely within my wheelhouse. In fact, 10 minutes could have produced a solid plan.
Reflecting, I decided that next time, I’d focus on the needs of my audience, instead of dwelling on my own knowledge gaps and concerns. The cost of perfectionism, detail orientation, and desire to maintain control was just too high and was keeping me from the important work of:
- Solving problems
- Creating a connection
- Engaging a “stakeholder” who could become an ally
Take a moment to ask yourself:
- Is there an idea or project you’re holding onto tightly? Or maybe work in progress that you dread sharing?
- What would it look like to share your work early and often? What would be the benefits for your work? For you?
- Who’s one person you’ve been resisting speaking with about your project? Schedule a time to meet and ask them questions to hear their perspective – even if you don’t have all the answer yet.
Because good communication is not only about what. It’s about when.