The “altitude goes both ways” point is especially interesting. It makes me think good communication may be less about simplifying information and more about helping someone move between levels without losing what matters at either one. The detail isn’t the problem. The question is when the detail becomes useful.
The audience piece is where I see most entry and mid levels struggle. Assuming senior leaders want “less” info when in actuality we want less noise & need “more” specifics around projects we are accountable for. Also not all senior leaders are the same. Everyone has their own working style. Some truly want to hear less, others want more. Knowing your audience lands the promotion.
Agree - knowing your audience is the most obvious therefore easy to dismiss advice but actually... Damn it's the most effective part of being a good communicator
As I begin my work with leaders, I really enjoy this article helping others realize what it takes to report up to senior executives. Thank you so much for sharing.
I found it so confusing at times working across cultures as senior leaders in Poland where I started to work in corporate VS in Sweden where I work now VS in London with whom I worked too a lot VS New York that frankly shocked me VS India that is also completely different story...
... just expected different things!
Yet, the things that remained common is to always say what you want from the senior leaders. Otherwise in every location I would loose them very very fast!
Really loved this! Not every senior exec, manager, colleague is the same and each person will have his/her own working style. I think it's so important, as you argue, to know who your audience is and this is relevant not only when you're presenting to someone orally but also when you're writing or producing any other kind of output. Thanks for sharing:)
Thanks for the read! I remember presenting a project I had built from the ground up. I had collected so much data that I squeezed everything into 25 minutes, left no time for questions and overwhelmed the audience with the tiniest details.
I was so confused by the silence at the end, because I thought my data collection skills were brilliant… 😝
Funny, considering I'm a UX researcher (also at Google, btw) and my job is to help teams understand their audience so they can build products people love
It has gotten better since then, but I'll definitely rely on your framework.
Love that you shared this! I've done the "trust by numbers" information firehouse too. Thanks for sharing (I loved the UX googlers btw I got to work with a bunch)
I like your dissection soph! as a xoogler i completely agree that effective communication especially to senior leaders' super important! i love how you set the context in the example especially explaining to them why this is important aka deserving their 20min!
hey Loretta (wonder if our paths crossed?) Thank you for sharing your thoughtful feedback and also for reading. I checked out your Substack too and love what you're doing.
The “altitude goes both ways” point is especially interesting. It makes me think good communication may be less about simplifying information and more about helping someone move between levels without losing what matters at either one. The detail isn’t the problem. The question is when the detail becomes useful.
That's so well articulated. Yes.
The audience piece is where I see most entry and mid levels struggle. Assuming senior leaders want “less” info when in actuality we want less noise & need “more” specifics around projects we are accountable for. Also not all senior leaders are the same. Everyone has their own working style. Some truly want to hear less, others want more. Knowing your audience lands the promotion.
Agree - knowing your audience is the most obvious therefore easy to dismiss advice but actually... Damn it's the most effective part of being a good communicator
As I begin my work with leaders, I really enjoy this article helping others realize what it takes to report up to senior executives. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for telling me and good luck - gets easier the more you do it
Came from instagram and love this!!
Thanks so much addo
Great note about bringing it into what matters to them- their values at work. I think this is a model that could be used across all levels of teams.
Very good article, thanks so much for sharing.
Soph, don't you think this is very cultural?
I found it so confusing at times working across cultures as senior leaders in Poland where I started to work in corporate VS in Sweden where I work now VS in London with whom I worked too a lot VS New York that frankly shocked me VS India that is also completely different story...
... just expected different things!
Yet, the things that remained common is to always say what you want from the senior leaders. Otherwise in every location I would loose them very very fast!
Really loved this! Not every senior exec, manager, colleague is the same and each person will have his/her own working style. I think it's so important, as you argue, to know who your audience is and this is relevant not only when you're presenting to someone orally but also when you're writing or producing any other kind of output. Thanks for sharing:)
Thanks for the read! I remember presenting a project I had built from the ground up. I had collected so much data that I squeezed everything into 25 minutes, left no time for questions and overwhelmed the audience with the tiniest details.
I was so confused by the silence at the end, because I thought my data collection skills were brilliant… 😝
Funny, considering I'm a UX researcher (also at Google, btw) and my job is to help teams understand their audience so they can build products people love
It has gotten better since then, but I'll definitely rely on your framework.
Love that you shared this! I've done the "trust by numbers" information firehouse too. Thanks for sharing (I loved the UX googlers btw I got to work with a bunch)
I like your dissection soph! as a xoogler i completely agree that effective communication especially to senior leaders' super important! i love how you set the context in the example especially explaining to them why this is important aka deserving their 20min!
hey Loretta (wonder if our paths crossed?) Thank you for sharing your thoughtful feedback and also for reading. I checked out your Substack too and love what you're doing.
i wonder too!!!:)