The Lost Art of A Productive Discussion
Something Simon Sinek posted this week caught my eye
Information Overload
This theme carries over throughout our daily lives in Corporate America. Not only is every business completely dependent on Excel Spreadsheets...with multiple tabs...pivot tables and macros....we spend a lot of time overwhelming others and hoping to impress them with how much detail we have. This information overload paralyzes others to the point where they don't even know where to begin to ask a question to challenge the "best-case scenarios and made up numbers".
The situation gets further compounded when a presentation is required and these spreadsheet tables get copied and pasted into a PowerPoint... decimal points and all. This is what we typically call "premature precision" that seemingly adds credibility to the analysis if you have it down to the 3rd or 4th decimal place.
This is also the moment in the zoom call where someone says..."can you make that slide bigger?" That statement comes only minutes after the presenter has said..."I am just going to go through these numbers really quickly" and proceeds to spend 20-30 minutes on that one slide...and there are 20 more to go....
Sound familiar?
The Lost Art of A Productive Discussion
With back to back meetings and no time to think...only do...I believe we have ALL lost our way on how to frame a productive discussion. It honestly takes time not only to boil all the information we have into a few salient points but also to paint the picture....tell the story...to enable a dialogue and drive effective decision making. In fact...I would argue that...
the messy...robust discussion...where light bulbs begin to go off NEVER happen in the meeting it was intended to because the "hour" was chewed up on the slides that were meant to guide the meeting not COMSUME the meeting.
We also have to be mindful of our audience. As we all know...we have different learning styles and ways we consume information. That means while WE may be really detailed oriented and need a ton of numbers...there are others in the room that need a picture...or an analogy to get the points across. Not to mention if you are with executives they need to know how this fits into the overall vision and accomplishes the team goals.
I don't know about YOU but I can admit that finding the "head space" to put the presentation together to get to the "heart of the matter" quickly is tough. It's not that I don't know HOW to do it...it is slowing myself down...taking that deep breath and admitting by NOT making the time...I am wasting time that is needed to get everyone on the same page and make a decision.
I would also argue that there is a "balance" in this "art of leading a productive conversation" where you need ENOUGH set up...data and detail to frame it...but not TOO MUCH. I have also found myself trying to get to the "punch line" and jump right into the dialogue thinking everyone knows why we are there and what we are discussing. Skipping steps can also derail the meeting as you churn and spend time trying to clarify why you are all there.
So What's the Solution?
I don't know that I have it solved but I have been trying to focus lately and come up with ways to lead more productive discussions. Here are some ideas....
Clarify What YOU Are Being Asked to Do. A lot of unproductive conversations start with unclear deliverables. Whoever is asking you to present or lead the discussion...write down the bullet points...outline... or agenda. Ensure YOU know who the audience is...what they need to know...believe or decide.
Negotiate YOUR Time. This applies not only to how much time on the agenda YOU have to go through the material but also how much time YOU need to adequately prepare.
Mind the clock. Don't plan to show up to a 20 minute presentation with 40 slides and expect you can "skip through them". This is a red flag and never works out. It's on YOU to negotiate the time needed and repercussions if there isn't enough to adequately cover the topic in the time allotted.
Be clear about YOUR Prep Time and the Tradeoffs. Based on the outline, audience, level of detail and gravity of the discussion (i.e are you delivering bad news or asking for support on a tough decision) stand YOUR ground on the preparation time needed.\
Plan YOUR Time. As the saying goes..."Fail to Plan...Plan to Fail". Now that you know what you need to deliver...to whom...and you know how much time you have to prepare YOU need to REALISTICALLY carve out time to get your thoughts together. I typically block a couple of hours on my calendar to do the first draft. I then set up a couple of check points with key stakeholders or subject matter experts to pre-sell the pitch so I can refine and ensure I didn't miss anything.
Less is More. Go back to the Steve Jobs quote and how hard it is to make something simple. The same applies for being able to summarize content. Everyone knows you have multiple spreadsheets...project plans...meeting notes.. actions... and hours upon hours of meetings behind it. They just need to know what they need to know and no more. Keep challenging yourself....is this really needed...does it add to the discussion...can I move it to back up...can I send anything out ahead of time rather than reviewing it all in the meeting?
Leverage Reusable Assets Shamelessly. I believe there is already a Power Point Slide created for everything. Since we sit in meetings all day long...surely there is a new fancy format or recent slide that YOU can use as a starting point for your content. YOU may even want to use slides your audience is familiar with to set the stage so they can connect the dots faster to the points you are trying to make.
Don't Be Afraid to Bring in Additional Voices. We often miss an opportunity to have someone else deliver the message...lead the discussion...or tell the story in their own words. We often forget the power of the saying "If You Don't Believe the Messenger You Won't Believe the Message" It can help diffuse politics or emotion and lend strong credibility to enable a productive discussion.
Pre-close The Content With an Influential Ally Prior to the Meeting. Don't leave the conversation to chance where things could get misinterpreted and potentially go off in an unproductive...different direction. It isn't cheating to have YOUR boss...or another key decision maker aware of the content and what you are looking to achieve. That way they can jump in and say "I think what Marcie is trying to say is..." OR even better...if there is known disagreement YOU can address that "head on" in YOUR content to get to the heart of the matter quickly. i.e. "I know there is a big concern over the budget for this project so let's talk through that and review our options".
In Closing...
I think we all need to hold each other accountable to having more productive discussions....it seems to be a lost art these days. This is especially true throughout the pandemic.
I think we all got numb to endless meetings and fell in love with the idea that NOTHING can happen unless we have a Power Point. So everyone just starting throwing STUFF into Power Points on short notice and we all accepted "the hours" of just being in "listening mode" with no room to challenge...talk about or really get to the messy...honest....authentic dialogue needed to solve things.
Change starts with each of us....one step at a time. How about YOU?
Leadership Questions of the Week for YOU:
Do YOU agree that having productive discussions are more and more difficult these days?
Do YOU think we have gotten lazy or just given up on trying to optimize content to match the discussion needed?
What do YOU think of the solutions listed above? Anything you would change...add or remove?
How can WE hold each other accountable or break the cycle of unproductive discussions?
Thanks for reading….and remember…YOU make a difference!
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