From Geek to Chic: Mastering Stakeholder Communication without Technobabble

John was hired into a new company as the Director of Technology.  He had a great reputation for leading teams of software developers using innovative technologies, which landed him a nice promotion in his new company. All went well – until it didn’t.  John was asked to give a presentation to the Executive Steering Committee about the work he was doing.  In his prior company, his boss was the liaison to executives and he wasn’t involved.  Non-deterred, John put together a slide deck about all the new technologies they were using and how cool it was.  During the presentation, one of the executives asked him to stop with the technobabble and translate it into English.  When asked about the schedule, he casually mentioned that work was a little behind.  When questioned as to the reasons, he said a few people had quit for opportunities in other companies. The head of the Executive Steering Committee thanked John for his time and dismissed him from the meeting.  John, only halfway through his slide deck, knew he had blown it and didn’t know if he’d get a second chance.

What went wrong?   Too often, we don’t take the time to understand who our key stakeholders are and what information is expected or needed.  For some people, like John, it doesn’t even cross their mind that they need to ask what is expected before they get on a bigger stage.  Others are afraid to ask key stakeholders what they need, thinking that it will reflect badly on them because they don’t know or are unsure.  Others take the attitude that if key stakeholders want to know something, they will ask.  Some will say that their key stakeholders should just trust them and not need to report on anything.

As a leader, how do you ensure that you are properly communicating with your stakeholders? 

Here are five steps to help guide you:

1. Know who your key stakeholders are.  
It’s safe to say that your immediate manager is a key stakeholder.  If you’re leading a project or key parts of a project, the Executive Sponsor is a key stakeholder.  Technology work usually supports the business.  Key business owners are likely key stakeholders.  If you need resources, other key stakeholders may be HR or the Project Management Office (PMO) leader. 

2. Understand what information each key stakeholder wants.   
This doesn’t mean that you schedule a meeting with them and say, “so, what do you need from me?”  Do your homework up front, putting yourself in their shoes and thinking about what they need.  Look at old presentations, if available. Use ChatGPT and ask.  Be prepared when you meet with each key stakeholder so the meeting is about validating and enhancing your ideas, making it a more valuable discussion.  And it builds trust between you and the key stakeholder.  Ask how the key stakeholder wants to receive communications – email, sharing reports, and/or scheduled meetings and how often they want to hear from you.  If you’re in a crisis situation, a daily check-in may be in order.  For routine work, perhaps the frequency is weekly or monthly, depending on the key stakeholder.  As a rule of thumb, key stakeholders at the executive level use this rule:  Be bright, be brief, be gone.

3. Communicate “slightly” more than you think you should.
Maybe a key milestone was hit early or an important client provided stellar feedback on the team – your key stakeholders would likely appreciate the good news when it happens.  The flip side of good news, of course, is bad news.  No executive likes surprises.  Keep the “no surprises” rule front and center when it comes to communicating with key stakeholders.  Report the bad news with the facts.

4. Have Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to keep focused on results.  
Key stakeholders are interested in results, not excuses or how hard the team is working.   They want to know why KPIs are red or yellow, what course corrections are being taken, and what help is needed from them. 

5. Tell the story behind the data.  
Connect the dots for the audience so they can see the big picture.  Don’t try to spin the data into something that it’s not.  Executives see through that quickly.  Understand how what you’re doing impacts the rest of the key stakeholders. 

So, what happened to John?  Luckily for him, the CTO remembered her first meeting with executives and it had gone similarly.  She remembered how dejected she felt and questioned if she should even be in a leadership role.  She recognized John’s potential and suggested that he go through the Engineer-to-Executive™ program – the same program that helped her progress from VP to SVP to CTO.

Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how the Engineer-to-Executive™ program can help you in your leadership journey.