“Let’s get this project proposal meeting started,” Ivy stated. She runs a tight meeting, making sure to start on time and follow the pre-communicated agenda. It is one thing Belle always liked about her meetings. Ivy continued, “On the agenda today is Belle’s project proposal. Belle, kick us off.”
Here’s my chance. This project is going to be great for the organization and it’s going to be an exciting project for all of us to develop and contribute to.
Belle looked around at the stakeholders at the conference room table. Ivy, her manager, empowered her to present this project without consulting her first. Ivy wanted to see what Belle could come up with on her own.
The man next to Ivy was called Papa, a shortened version of his actual name which many in the room had trouble pronouncing even slightly close to correct. This fact amused him and he encouraged everyone to use the shortened version. Papa is responsible for manufacturing.
Next to Papa sat Rye, a crusty gentleman on the outside, with a good heart on the inside. Rye is a product manager with a keen sense of what the customer’s future needs will be.
Belle launched into her presentation. “I’m excited to present to you Project Elephant Ear.”
Immediately everyone in the room formed a guess on what the project was about, and opinions on the pros and cons. However, they hadn’t even heard the description yet. Belle noticed looks of concerns all around.
Instead of diving into the merits of the project first off, Belle decided to address potential concerns of the stakeholders first.
Through her one-on-one meetings with her manager Ivy, Belle had picked up on her dedication to her hobby, gardening. Belle realized that her outside interests may have some impact on her understanding of Project Elephant Ear, so she stated, “You may be thinking that Project Elephant Ear has to do with this (Belle pointed to the image on the screen), which is very much outside of our expertise here.”
Indeed, that is exactly what Ivy was concerned with.
After seeing Ivy nodding in understanding, and her expression turning from concern to interest, Belle moved on. “You may also be thinking that Project Elephant Ear is too complex of an idea to manufacture.” She had heard Papa say in passing that some of the designs were costly to manufacture because they were big, bulky, and complex. She pointed to the screen again, saying that the project was not as complex as some of our previous projects.
Belle could almost hear Papa’s sigh of relief.
Rye still looked concerned. His last elephant ear project was not as sweet as it should have been. Belle had heard about this too because she had paid attention in the retrospective. Although it produced a little grimace from Rye, she showed the picture and acknowledged that the project had its challenges. She emphasized that she took on board the learnings from that project and baked them into her proposal.
Rye looked satisfied that she had learned from the previous project.
With everyone’s initial concerns proactively addressed, Belle was able to describe her Project Elephant Ear to people who were open to hearing her out because they were not dwelling in the stress response.
Pre-work of being curious and friendly
When Belle had joined the company a few years prior, she decided she was going to be friendly and, when the moments presented themselves, take an interest in people. Her one-on-ones with her manager gave her an opportunity to ask questions like, “What would you do in this situation?” “What issues have we had in the past that we overcame as a team?” and “What’s the vision for the company?” She would also ask casually how her manager’s weekend was, which is where she learned of her passion for gardening.
Belle didn’t have too much interaction with Papa day-to-day, but when she passed him in the hall she would say hi and ask how he was. Most times it was just a greeting, but now and then they would be walking to the same place and she could ask things like, “How’s everything in manufacturing these days?” Papa shared a few of his concerns with current projects with her, which is how she knew that large and complex products were an issue.
Ivy had invited Belle to the retrospective of a few projects, including Rye’s. Because she paid attention and took notes, she knew there were some challenges with previous projects. But, she also recognized these challenges were not insurmountable, and proposed ideas to reduce the risk of these issues biting the team again.
tl;dr
It’s helpful to understand the frame of reference of people you are presenting to, and if possible, to proactively address concerns they may have before you roll out the details of your idea. Get to know people by being curious. A simple, “How’s it going?” now and then, will give you insight into other people’s worlds. The idea is to get to know people and their responsibilities so you can interact with them with empathy.
engineer your life
- If you are not already saying ‘hi’ to people, give it a try. A “Good morning, ” and a smile is a good start.
- Another phrase that I use when I know we don’t have a lot of time (say, we’re on an elevator together or walking to the parking lot) is, “Is your team pretty busy?” Sometimes the answer is “yes” or “no”, but many times they will tell you a bit about what they are working on.
- Next time you present, think about what might be on the minds of the people you are presenting to. If you think they may be concerned about specific things, try to proactively address those issues.