One of my teams is facing a big, fat decision regarding future product direction, and the process has split the team in half: the Yes We Shoulds and the No Way in Hells. The manager of the team is facing a rebellion and is spending much of his time trying to drive the team toward a decision.
I walked by his office, where he was talking with one of the No Way in Hells, trying to influence her to come over to the other side of the fence. I overheard a snippet of his conversation: “I think it’s a key decision and I’m asking you to think outside of the box . . .”
I cringed.
Management speak.
Walking back to my office, I thought about my negative reaction to the phrase “outside of the box.” What does that actually mean? Well, it means something like “Don’t restrict your thinking to conventional avenues,” but that’s not what your team hears when you say it. They hear, “Hi, I’m a manager, and as a manager I’m telling you that you should be creative without actually telling you how to be creative.”
No, that’s not right. What they hear is, “Hi, I’m a manager, and I’ve stopped thinking and am using throwaway phrases that obscure what I mean.”
And managers wonder why no one trusts them.
As I sat in my office, a project manager came in for a one-on-one. With the observation fresh in my mind, I attempted to monitor my usage of managementese during our half-hour meeting. Here are my offenses :
“Can you circle back with her . . .”
“I want to double-click on that and . . .”
“These are the action items . . .”
What I learned: I’ve turned into a total dorkwad manager and can no longer communicate like a normal human being.
Management Metaphors
One of my favorite books on software construction is Steve McConnell’s Code Complete. In the second chapter, McConnell describes the richness of language around computer science: “Computer Science has some of the most colorful language of any field. In what other field can you walk into a sterile room, carefully controlled at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and find viruses, Trojan horses, worms, bugs, bombs, crashes, flames, twisted sex changers, and fatal errors?”
He continues: “A software metaphor is more like a searchlight than a road map. It doesn’t tell you where to find the answer; it tells you how to look for it.”
I’d always assumed that management metaphors fell into the same bucket, and they do, but if your team doesn’t know what you’re talking about, you might as well be speaking in code.
Managementese is a language that is learned, evolved, and spoken by managers. For communication between managers, it’s a convenient, high-bandwidth means of conveying information. Chances are, when you say “double-click” to a fellow manager, they understand that you are suggesting that they should pay attention to whatever it is you’re doing.
There are unique spheres of language that exist in each part of the corporate organizational chart. Inside of each sphere is the language that is unique to the job. Engineers have one, marketing has another, and sales has yet another. In each of these groups, there are managers who must speak their native language, as well as be able to translate between spheres in order to get the job done. I believe this is a legitimate reason for managementese. It’s the cross-functional language of the company. Without it, the different parts of the organization aren’t going to be able to communicate with each other.
Remember, managers are hubs of communication (see Chapter 12). The better they communicate across these sphere boundaries, the more people they can communicate with, and the more data they have. This consequently leads to better decisionmaking. Ultimately, stronger communicators make better-informed decisions, and hopefully they are more successful because they waste less time wondering what to do.
Still, when you say “double-click” to an employee, they know what you’re talking about, but they also know that you’ve just self-identified as a manager. Why didn’t you just say what you actually meant? My first guess is that you’re in a hurry, but that’s not what your team is hearing.
Language of the Lazy
In high tech companies, we’re all in an incredible fucking hurry. We’re working against an unreasonable deadline, and we’re over-committed on features. As a manager, your job is that of a bullshit umbrella. You need to decide what crap your team needs to deal with and what crap can be ignored. That means that you need to rapidly acquire information from a variety of people. In that rush, managementese can help you talk with your fellow managers to figure out what the hell is going on, but you’re only half done. You still need to communicate to your team.
This can be tiresome because you, of all people, are absolutely sure what you’re saying. This is why you might be tempted to use the readily accessible management metaphor-laced language that you’re familiar with. Don’t.
The main issue folks have with managementese is not that they don’t understand what is being said; their issue is that they don’t trust it. Think of the worst all-hands meeting you’ve ever been at and tell me why you hated it.
“Management is out of touch with what we’re doing.”
“They’re all talk and no action.”
“He’s talking in generalities and what I want is specifics.”
“She sure sounds like she believes what she’s saying, but I don’t know what she’s saying.”
Managers in a hurry need to remember that managementese puts you a few key metaphors away from sounding like a used-car salesman. Talking fast and with confidence might make you feel like you’re getting something done, but if the people you are talking to don’t trust you, they’re never going to understand what you’re saying.
The “Bottom Line”
My advice is simple: when you’re talking to individuals, talk to them using the familiar language of a friend. Dispose of the management hat and have a conversation in a common language. Ditch the managementese. This takes practice because it’s a major context switch for you, but your goal is to have a conversation, and for that to happen, both people sitting at the table need to trust and understand what is being said.
Ninety-five percent of the people in a big company simply have no clue what corporate machinations are going down and how they might be affected, or whether or not they’ll be working in the next six months. How you will be judged as a manager by your team is based on how you communicate with them. It’s not just about taking the time to have that quarterly all-hands meeting—it’s also understanding what they need to hear and being able to say it in a way they’ll understand and trust.