Senior people are extremely busy, so keep your meetings short and sweet. Photo: Yuri Arcurs.
Many young officers are reluctant to approach senior executives well above their pay grade, but May Busch says getting time with them in order to advance your career is often easier than you think.
A pivotal turning point in my career came when I invited my boss’s boss to see me in action at a client meeting.
If I hadn’t invested in that relationship and asked him to attend my client pitch, it wouldn’t have led to me being chosen for a bigger position and the opportunities that followed.
Having good relationships with senior executives is essential because it can open doors to the opportunities, recognition and fulfilment you want.
However, senior leaders can seem out of reach, too busy, or even intimidating. Reaching out to them, and the meeting itself, can be a source of anxiety.
So, what’s the best way to approach them, and how can you make it easy, stress-free and rewarding for everyone involved?
I can tell you from years of experience, it’s simpler than you think. Here are some tips to get you started.
Ask for advice: The more senior someone is, the more they love to talk about their careers and their expectations for the organisation – as long as they feel it’s a good use of their time.
This is also a great way to share your career goals and ambitions, which can lead to earning their support.
For example, you could say: “I see myself as being a [role] one day. What skills/areas should I focus on to be successful as a [role]?
“What challenges did you face on the way to becoming a [role] that I should be aware of?”
Request a 15-to-30-minute meeting: Senior people are extremely busy, so don’t ask for an hour-long meeting. Keep it short and sweet. Thirty minutes should be the maximum.
Use the Rule of Three: This simply means presenting ideas in groups of three because research has shown the human brain can retain only three ideas at the same time.
So, start with your main point and use no more than three supporting points.
Keeping your communications concise and organised shows senior people that you value their time. It also makes it more likely they’ll remember what you said.
End the meeting early: In all likelihood, your boss is in back-to-back meetings without any breaks.
So, wrapping up five minutes early is an easy way to give them a gift they will appreciate: their precious time back. (Of course, if they want to continue talking, don’t artificially end the meeting.)
They’ll be much more likely to say yes to meetings with you in the future because they know you value their time. I know this was certainly true for me as a busy boss.
Circle back: Return to them later and tell them what you did with their advice.
This is one of the most low-lift, high-impact ways to stand out to senior stakeholders, mentors and sponsors, and most people just don’t do it.
Former vice-chair of Morgan Stanley, Carla Harris, said it best in her Career Mastery Talk on How to Communicate Effectively at Work.
“As somebody who is often asked for help, I really value those people that come back to me and say: ‘I did what you told me to do. Let me tell you where things are now’.
“I love it because it then motivates me to invest in that person again the next time they call.”
Remember, senior executives are people too. They want to connect with you and they want to help you.
So, make it easy for them to say “yes” to a meeting with you.
May Busch’s mission is to help leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
