How often does a senior leader hand you vague instructions?
Typically, when this happens for me, it goes something like this:
- There has been an ongoing technical issue causing friction between the IT and Finance departments for the past eight months.
- We need you to develop and implement a new process that solves this problem.
- There will be a team of up to 15 stakeholders across both departments.
- The goal is to have the new process fully designed, approved, and ready to launch within 7 weeks.
If I’m lucky, the email finishes with, “Let me know if you have any questions.”
But more often, it’s something like, “I’ll be out of the office for the next two and a half weeks. Good luck!”
The expectation is that I’ll just figure it out and make it happen. Even though there’s far more involved than leadership probably realizes. And let’s be honest, everyone knows it can’t actually be finished in 7 weeks.
And why 7 weeks? Why not round it up to 8?
It can feel like we’re expected to work magic. So how do we learn to pull off the impossible with so little to start with?
Making it happen
We can all become magicians at work, if we know how to ask the right questions to the right people. The real magic is that those people often have exactly the answers we need!
Clear communication with stakeholders is one of the most important skills you can have in the workplace. If you avoid communicating, rely too much on technology instead of real conversations, or simply don’t work to improve your communication skills, you’ll have a hard time making things happen.
In fact, you might even make the situation worse. I’ve seen many managers put their heads into their laptops when handed assignments like these, instead of figuring out how to communicate with the key stakeholders.
Instead, start by gathering as much information as possible. Focus on asking thoughtful questions to the right people so you can fully understand the problem before jumping in.
Asking the right questions
Some of the questions I like to ask are the following:
- What’s the background of this situation?
- What are some important qualities or characteristics of each stakeholders?
- What and who are the potential obstacles or roadblocks?
- What’s been attempted?
- Has this same issue come up with other departments?
- What internal and external challenges do the stakeholders face?
- If the top challenge was solved, what would be different?
- What skills or resources might be needed to succeed?
Learn your magic
Ready to perform some real workplace magic? It all comes down to clear communication and asking the right questions to the right people as you get started. When you gather this critical information early on, even the toughest assignments from leadership become easier to tackle.
If you need help figuring out which questions to ask or how to get started, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help you make magical results happen, even when you have very little to start with.
With 20+ years project management experience, Barbara Kephart has led projects across industries like medical software, clinical trials, and cybersecurity. With experience teaching technical project management and stakeholder engagement, Barbara is dedicated to helping companies pivot, prioritize, and complete projects with Chief Project Officer-level expertise, project professionals, practical training, and hands-on management—without the executive-level price tag.