May Busch says when a senior executive saunters up and casually asks: ‘What’s going on?’ be ready with your answer — it could be a game-changer.
No matter what career stage you’re in, if you want to advance, then somebody in a decision-making position needs to see you as ready to take on more responsibility.
How do you show them you’re ready?
Most of us think the way to prove ourselves as ready for the next role is simply to do really great work.
While doing great work is a big clue to decision-makers, it’s not the only one.
Doing great work is not enough.
There are also the impressions and perceptions that decision-makers have of you when they see you in action.
These are formed through your interactions with those senior people.
When we think about how senior people perceive us, we tend to focus on the formal interactions where we’re presenting something, whether as an individual or as part of a team.
In these situations, we’re really prepared because we know it’s a situation that matters.
Informal interactions are equally important, and maybe more so.
Recently, someone told me that answering the question: “What’s up?” from a senior person was a real issue for him at work.
He never knew how to answer it and was concerned it led to him being perceived as someone who’s not ready to take on a top role.
Informal interactions can seem casual and they might even be ones where somebody senior simply asks you: “So what’s going on?”
Yet they can make an impression, whether good or bad, so you need to know how to handle these situations.
I’m going to share advice which will arm you with a strategy for how to make the best of informal conversations.
It is called the Business Update.
This is simply synthesising and summarising into three key points something business-related in answer to a casual: “Hey, what’s going on?” or “what’s hot in your area?”
It allows you to confidently take a casual work situation and make the most of it from a professional standpoint.
As you choose these three key points, think about what’s going on that will most resonate with the senior audience you’re talking to.
The two most practical and high-impact ways to approach the Business Update are to focus either on the work you and your team are doing, or on the strategic themes in your sector.
These are topics that senior people will expect you to be articulate about.
The key is to talk about it in a way that’s relevant to the senior person who asked the question.
Best of all, both of these topics allow you to ‘show your stuff’ without feeling like you’re bragging.
Updates about your work:
First, choose the three key projects or initiatives that you and/or your team are driving.
Then, pre-prepare the way you want to talk about those projects.
Your aim is to be able to convey the work you’re doing in a way that aligns with the bigger picture of what your organisation is trying to do.
That means zooming out from the tactical day-to-day aspects and elevating the way you think about those three key projects.
How do they support the organisation’s priorities?
How can they help move the needle for the broader unit you’re in, the organisation as a whole, and the clients you serve?
Updates about strategic themes:
First, step back and look at what you see going on around you.
You may be surprised by the amount of knowledge and data you have that you’ve taken for granted but would be useful and interesting to seniors.
Keep in mind that you’re closer to the action, and senior people rely on you to know what employees and clients are doing and thinking.
Having identified the key themes and trends you want to talk about, consider how they could affect the person you’re talking to.
Your job is to make it easy for them to see the connection between what you’re talking about and the impact it’s likely to have on them.
These informal situations may be brief if you’re getting a coffee before the meeting starts, or they could last longer if you’re at a reception.
That’s why it’s good to have several versions of your Business Update: Super-short, short, and not-quite-so-short.
For the super-short, I recommend creating a 10-second version of the update.
“I’m glad you asked. We’re working on these three major initiatives that are going to really move the needle. These are X, Y and Z.”
If talking about all three is too much of a mouthful for 10 seconds, then choose just one area.
For the short, you can develop a 30-second version of your Business Update where you go into a little bit more about each one and why it matters.
For the not-quite-so-short, you may wish to stretch it out to a two-minute version, but remember, senior peoples’ attention spans generally won’t go much beyond that.
Finally, you also want to make sure you’re morphing your updates over time as the situation changes.
Casual does not mean unprepared and effortless.
Often, it’s harder to master the art of the informal conversation than the set-piece presentation.
By using the Business Update strategy, you’ll be taking huge advantage of those informal sidebar conversations that inevitably arise.
To really nail these informal situations and convey the message that you’re ready for a more senior role, you’ve got to practice.
I hope the Business Update strategy helps you master those casual conversations with senior people.
They’re a big opportunity to show that you’re on top of the business.
*May Busch helps leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She can be contacted at [email protected] .
This article first appeared on May’s blogsite
