Today I want to challenge you to brief like a boss by finding your key supporter in the room.
We are in our last weekend of November, we are going full-on into December, the month where everything in business is mixed with the holidays. That means that everyone is going to be distracted; therefore, it’s critical to land your message the first time around in your day job so you won’t be spending extra hours on that instead of in your own business.
You have a boss or supervisor that you report to in the corporate world. And you may have a team reporting to you in your own personal business world. Knowing how to brief, and therefore teaching your team how to brief you are critical skills, they are a key part of the internal portion of your communication pillar.
That said, one of the key aspects I have always taught others how to do is to find the key decenter in the room and go present the idea to him or her first. Get their thoughts, get them on board, and then your overall brief to the leadership group should be a thousand times easier. But there is another person you need to find and brief in advance, that’s the key person in the room your boss is going to look to agree with what you are saying. It is probably a peer of his or hers, maybe even one of your peers. Figure out who that is, and speak to them before the meeting. Then, when your boss looks to them during your brief, they can give the nod to convey “yep, you are correct in what you are saying,” and then you are more than likely going to get approval from your supervisor.
I know throughout my career I would update my peers before going into a group meeting so we could present a united front. Looking back, my boss would look to them to confirm we were aligned. When they nodded and agreed or even went further and made statements of support, everything went off without a hitch.
Are you looking for that supporter in the room for your corporate job? Beyond that, does your team know who you look to in your own business for alignment and support? Are they using that person to help them prepare? If not, share this nugget with them as well. It will help you as much as it will help them.
Be Legendary!