Why your boss tunes you out

One of my clients came to me with a high-stakes pitch to request a budget and head count for her team. She had built a beautiful and thorough deck with revenue charts, growth graphs, staffing history, and supporting data. Buried somewhere behind all the data and charts was the one thing she actually wanted: additional money for technology and head count to grow her team. So I asked her if the presentation was clear and compelling to her leader. “Considering I had to go to the very end of my deck to get to what I’m actually asking for, probably not,” she responded. A key shift leaders must make as they advance at work and present to higher level audiences is to tighten and elevate their message. When I coach leaders inside organizations, the number one piece of feedback I hear from their executives is this, “They come to meetings with PowerPoints full of data. We just want the key points, the highlights; otherwise we start tuning out.” At the executive level, the time shortens and the stakes rise to make a clear and compelling argument. You might have only 15 or 20 minutes to change hearts and minds. I get how vulnerable this feels. It is why I am still tempted to overprepare when …