Disappoint People Helpfully - Squadron Weekly Email
Originally posted 20th March 2023
There’s an art to letting others down—when you do it right, you can not only set priorities and clear your schedule, but also communicate strategy and culture so effectively that listeners thank you for your bad news.
Every week I talk to executives whose companies and teams are too “need-y”—not insecure and desperate for reassurance, but convinced that customers “need” this feature and the Board “needs” that report and the tech team “needs” those engineers on the hiring plan. The leader is usually switched on enough to know that most such “requirements” are distractions from the organisation’s mission and deserve a summary veto, but sometimes even a clear “no” from her isn’t enough to stem the tide when the results have been promised and the demands are fervent. That’s when I advise disappointing people helpfully.
The trick is simple: when you decline the meeting or shelve the project or dissolve the team, take a few moments to explain what is more important than fulfilling the need. “I’m not attending the weekly updates while I focus on setting the annual budget.” “We’re concentrating on our US expansion right now, so we shouldn’t be spending on new product research.” “We’re going to transfer low-end clients onto the standard plan so we can put all our customisation efforts into enterprise deployments.” As a result, listeners get a memorable message about your priorities, what strategic choices are getting most attention, and most importantly, what they themselves should be focusing on when they make decisions that you’ll never see. So try delivering some disappointment to someone today, with a side order of priority-setting: if you make this a habit, you should see your calendar clearing and your team becoming much more aligned and productive.
This first appeared in my weekly Squirrel Squadron email, which goes out every Monday, and was originally posted on 20th March 2023. To get my provocative thoughts and tips direct to your inbox first, sign up here: https://squirrelsquadron.com
