12 great points Wes, and point number 2. is my favourite - "2. Encourage them [the CEO] to interrupt you."
When it comes to workplace listening, there is a common fallacy that interrupting is rude or unproductive.
Communication is a simultaneous equation between the speaker and the listener.
Roles change multiple times during the discussion, its critical to understand what is a great conversation for all participants before the meeting starts.
A simple question - What would make this a great conversation? will act as the communication compass for the discussion and keep everyone on track.
Process first, then content.
Three tips about skillfully, professionally and effectively interrupting in the workplace.
1/ Pre-empt questions and interruptions before the conversation commences. Ask how you would like to take questions and explain your intention if or when you interrupt.
2/ Ask yourself, is this interruption about me, my thoughts or perspective, or is it about progressing the purpose of the conversation? The second option increases the effectiveness of the dialogue, especially in group meetings.
3/ Don't interrupt mid-sentence, mid-thought or mid-breath. Wait for the speaker to complete their thought. This will avoid making you the quiz show contestant who presses the buzzer too soon and embarrasses themselves.
[The Easiest way to avoid this is to note your question by writing or typing it out before you interrupt.]
* NB - In some cultures, interruption is a signal of a strong relationship
What are your top tips for interrupting skilfully, professionally and effectively in the workplace?
Thanks for sharing these great tips, Wes! My team has a meeting with our CEO this week. After reading this (and sharing it with my director) I have a new perspective around straight forward comments and interruptions.
Very useful, thank you! What about people who can access their CEOs mostly via emails? Some of tips can be applied (BLUF, less status updates, links to supporting data if needed), are there any specific ones?
I'm talking mainly about people who don't need direct access to the CEO, but want to hear her/his thoughts and give some ideas. The 'convential' way would be to go through the management channel, but I've also felt that talking directly to the CEO will motivate me and explain better why some decisions are made.
I've tried it with 3 CEOs in the last couple of years - one ignored me completely, one answered very shortly (and then started to ignore me) and another one engaged and scheduled a 1:1 follow up. I tried to analyze what didn't work in the first time, and I'm not sure whether it's because I've built credability in the company, or just because some CEOs are more approachable.
A few thoughts: What did you ask about and how did you ask? That matters because the topic/question itself may have been too complex for the CEO to answer in the moment. Taking the time to figure out what you think and then explain it to someone, taking into account their role and how much context they currently have, takes a lot of brainpower. They probably didn’t see the upside in investing this time vs doing other highly-leveraged tasks on their list. To increase your chance of getting an answer, you may want to sell them on the upside. What are the stakes? If you have this answer, how will it help you save money or make money for the company? If you don’t get this answer, how will it cost the company? If your response is “them answering the question doesn’t really impact my ability to save or make money,” you can reconsider why the question matters. CEOs and most senior leaders are ruthlessly focused on driving value for the firm, so if answering your question doesn’t contribute to that, it makes sense why they’d put it lower on their priority list.
There are dozens of potential reasons why they did or didn’t respond, and I can’t speak on the specifics without knowing more context. But hopefully the framework above helps you empathize with your CEO and present questions in a way where they see the upside in investing time to answer. Thanks for your thoughtful question Anton.
Thank you Wes, that's very useful, I hadn't considered it from that perspective. The answer was indeed "“them answering the question doesn’t really impact my ability to save or make money”, at least not directly. I will think on how to formulize it better, and minimize the brain power they need to use to answer it.
I have a question: One of the things that stuck in my mind when I was having sales training as a founder was "Don't give everything away." My exec coach would say this over and over. I think his point was that if we as salespeople give prospects every bit of info we have, then there's no reason for them to get back to us. We've shown our full hand, so to speak, and there's nothing left for us to offer them—no mystique or potential remaining.
This seems somehow related to this piece but I can't say how. Could you?
Also wider point, if you haven't written anything yet about what I'm struggling to describe here, would you consider adding it to your backlog? I'd absolutely love to read your thoughts on it. I feel the lesson is transferable to so many things outside of sales
Can't stress enough the importance of providing context while cutting right to the meat.
In my experience of leading teams and running a small development agency, I lacked context the most in calls. Because one week, I was swept up in sales calls; the other week, I worked on a completely different project or the company blog.
While people cut right to the meat, they didn't give me any context, and we spent part of the discussion on getting that context.
Giving context doesn't have to be part of the call. It can be sent as a short DM or email before the call. I love to have short calls; if I can prepare async, that's even better.
This is genuinely one of the best posts on engaging with senior executives I've ever met. I know I have a following of consultants so sharing this as a note to encourage them all to read.
Every single one of these is relevant to my audience.
I really like 'Aim for a good decision, not necessarily your exact recommendation'. I've literally been in rooms where people started to argue with the CEO because they didn't get the exact recommendation they wanted.
12 great points Wes, and point number 2. is my favourite - "2. Encourage them [the CEO] to interrupt you."
When it comes to workplace listening, there is a common fallacy that interrupting is rude or unproductive.
Communication is a simultaneous equation between the speaker and the listener.
Roles change multiple times during the discussion, its critical to understand what is a great conversation for all participants before the meeting starts.
A simple question - What would make this a great conversation? will act as the communication compass for the discussion and keep everyone on track.
Process first, then content.
Three tips about skillfully, professionally and effectively interrupting in the workplace.
1/ Pre-empt questions and interruptions before the conversation commences. Ask how you would like to take questions and explain your intention if or when you interrupt.
2/ Ask yourself, is this interruption about me, my thoughts or perspective, or is it about progressing the purpose of the conversation? The second option increases the effectiveness of the dialogue, especially in group meetings.
3/ Don't interrupt mid-sentence, mid-thought or mid-breath. Wait for the speaker to complete their thought. This will avoid making you the quiz show contestant who presses the buzzer too soon and embarrasses themselves.
[The Easiest way to avoid this is to note your question by writing or typing it out before you interrupt.]
* NB - In some cultures, interruption is a signal of a strong relationship
What are your top tips for interrupting skilfully, professionally and effectively in the workplace?
Great points and question Oscar. I have a post on how to interrupt respectfully coming up on the queue!
Interrupting is another communication tool.
It is not right or wrong, better or worse, good or bad.
A better question might be whether interrupting is productive or unproductive for the participants.
A skilful, elegant, and professional interruption can be as potent as silence in helping the speaker articulate what they mean.
In some cultures, interrupting signifies a deep relationship between the participants.
Like listening, interrupting is situational, relational, and contextual. Equally, productive interruptions will be unique.
Some additional listening resources about interruption
1/ The best time to interrupt and how
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/oscartrimboli/Bonus_20210511.mp3
2/ How to effectively interrupt a monologue when listening
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/oscartrimboli/20210128_AYQ_Lengthy_Monologue.mp3
3/ The surprising importance of impatience and great listening
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/oscartrimboli/EP075.mp3
Thanks for sharing these great tips, Wes! My team has a meeting with our CEO this week. After reading this (and sharing it with my director) I have a new perspective around straight forward comments and interruptions.
Love to hear this, Devon!
Very useful, thank you! What about people who can access their CEOs mostly via emails? Some of tips can be applied (BLUF, less status updates, links to supporting data if needed), are there any specific ones?
I'm talking mainly about people who don't need direct access to the CEO, but want to hear her/his thoughts and give some ideas. The 'convential' way would be to go through the management channel, but I've also felt that talking directly to the CEO will motivate me and explain better why some decisions are made.
I've tried it with 3 CEOs in the last couple of years - one ignored me completely, one answered very shortly (and then started to ignore me) and another one engaged and scheduled a 1:1 follow up. I tried to analyze what didn't work in the first time, and I'm not sure whether it's because I've built credability in the company, or just because some CEOs are more approachable.
A few thoughts: What did you ask about and how did you ask? That matters because the topic/question itself may have been too complex for the CEO to answer in the moment. Taking the time to figure out what you think and then explain it to someone, taking into account their role and how much context they currently have, takes a lot of brainpower. They probably didn’t see the upside in investing this time vs doing other highly-leveraged tasks on their list. To increase your chance of getting an answer, you may want to sell them on the upside. What are the stakes? If you have this answer, how will it help you save money or make money for the company? If you don’t get this answer, how will it cost the company? If your response is “them answering the question doesn’t really impact my ability to save or make money,” you can reconsider why the question matters. CEOs and most senior leaders are ruthlessly focused on driving value for the firm, so if answering your question doesn’t contribute to that, it makes sense why they’d put it lower on their priority list.
There are dozens of potential reasons why they did or didn’t respond, and I can’t speak on the specifics without knowing more context. But hopefully the framework above helps you empathize with your CEO and present questions in a way where they see the upside in investing time to answer. Thanks for your thoughtful question Anton.
Thank you Wes, that's very useful, I hadn't considered it from that perspective. The answer was indeed "“them answering the question doesn’t really impact my ability to save or make money”, at least not directly. I will think on how to formulize it better, and minimize the brain power they need to use to answer it.
What an awesome list of advice!! Extremely useful!!
Great ideas well executed as usual Wes!
I have a question: One of the things that stuck in my mind when I was having sales training as a founder was "Don't give everything away." My exec coach would say this over and over. I think his point was that if we as salespeople give prospects every bit of info we have, then there's no reason for them to get back to us. We've shown our full hand, so to speak, and there's nothing left for us to offer them—no mystique or potential remaining.
This seems somehow related to this piece but I can't say how. Could you?
Also wider point, if you haven't written anything yet about what I'm struggling to describe here, would you consider adding it to your backlog? I'd absolutely love to read your thoughts on it. I feel the lesson is transferable to so many things outside of sales
Great points, Wes!
Can't stress enough the importance of providing context while cutting right to the meat.
In my experience of leading teams and running a small development agency, I lacked context the most in calls. Because one week, I was swept up in sales calls; the other week, I worked on a completely different project or the company blog.
While people cut right to the meat, they didn't give me any context, and we spent part of the discussion on getting that context.
Giving context doesn't have to be part of the call. It can be sent as a short DM or email before the call. I love to have short calls; if I can prepare async, that's even better.
This is genuinely one of the best posts on engaging with senior executives I've ever met. I know I have a following of consultants so sharing this as a note to encourage them all to read.
Every single one of these is relevant to my audience.
I really like 'Aim for a good decision, not necessarily your exact recommendation'. I've literally been in rooms where people started to argue with the CEO because they didn't get the exact recommendation they wanted.
Everyone should read this.