Listen for the Moment
In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.
Mary is a member of the Finance function for a consumer products business unit in a Fortune 500 company. She has experienced some level of success in her organization, but is not advancing as fast as she desires. Her organization’s management team recently conducted an evaluation of the organization’s talent using the 9-Box assessment.
Mary’s manager Bill, shared the management team’s assessment of Mary’s potential for advancement in the organization’s talent pool. Mary was positioned as a Core Employee. Mary was disappointed with the assessment. She wants to be positioned as a Future Leader.
Mary asked Bill to explain what was keeping her from being positioned as a Future Leader. Bill informed Mary that the management team viewed Mary as a solid performer but not as a Future Leader because she does not come forward with ideas that could enable the Finance function to meet the challenge of being business partners with Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, and other functions in the business unit. The bottom line is Mary is not perceived as a thought leader, an attribute the organization seeks for its future leaders.
The feedback frustrates Mary. She offers ideas during meetings. However, her ideas get lost in the shuffle as her colleagues also offer ideas and vie for attention. Mary feels that her colleagues who speak loudly and who have strong relationships with members of the management team are heard and their suggestions are valued.
Mary shares her frustration with Kelly. Kelly is a marketing director in the business unit. She is highly regarded by the executive team and seems to be positioned to advance to a vice president position. Kelly and Mary meet to discuss Mary’s frustration over lunch.
Mary: Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.
Kelly: It is my pleasure. I was very impressed with your contributions to the successful launch of our product line extension last year.
Mary: Thank you.
Kelly: Advancement in our company is based on two factors—performance and potential. From what you have told me, it seems like potential is a challenge for you.
Mary: Yes, it is.
Kelly: When it comes to future leaders, being perceived as a thought leader is part of the company’s DNA. It is a highly valued trait.
Mary: Being perceived as a thought leader seems so subjective. What can I do to influence perception of me as a thought leader?
Kelly: When you communicate, timing is just as important as what you say.
Mary: How can I know when the time is right?
Kelly: I listen for the Radiator Moment?
Mary: What is the Radiator Moment?
Kelly: Early in my career, I experienced the same frustration you are experiencing. I offered suggestions in meeting that got lost in the shuffle as my peers vied for attention to their ideas. Some spoke in loud voices. Some leveraged strong relationships with the influential individuals in the meeting. Influential individuals set the tone and direction of the meetings.
I noticed that discussions started with a barrage of ideas offered by my peers. The rooms were full of energy. When I spoke, it seemed like no one was listening.
Mary: This is so much like my experience.
Kelly: I observed that after the period of the barrage of ideas, energy left the room. It was like someone asked for a “moment of silence”. The only sound was the sound of the heating or air conditioning system. I called this the Radiator Moment.
Mary: What did you do when the Radiator Moment evolved?
Kelly: I acknowledged individuals who offered ideas. I told them that I have an idea that captures their ideas.
Mary: You set the stage for communicating your idea.
Kelly: Exactly.
Mary: What did you do after you set the stage?
Kelly: I offered my idea in a simple sentence—subject, verb, object. The influencers and others listened. My idea did not have to vie for attention. I created an “aha moment”. As I repeated this technique, I became known as a thought leader.
Mary: I am going to listen for the Radiator Moment in a meeting scheduled for next week.
Kelly: Are you referring to the meeting that will be focused on how we can increase the profitability of our business unit?
Mary: Yes.
Kelly: I will also participate in that meeting. I will be observing you.
The meeting participants included representative from Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Manufacturing. The challenge was how to increase profits above the current year’s forecast when manufacturing was operating at full capacity. Product managers offered ideas on how to increase prices. Sales managers pushed back on price increases citing that many customers would not accept price increases and would shift their purchases to competitors. Manufacturing suggested shifting production to products that required shorter set-up and changeover times. These were among several ideas that competed for consideration. Mary took notes and sat calmly. She looked very engaged in the meeting. Then, the Radiator Moment evolved. Mary spoke.
We have heard great ideas. Let me offer an idea that captures all of our ideas.
Shift more business to paper towels.
The meeting participants asked why. Mary explained that the common resource for which all products competed was an hour of production in the paper making process. She showed an analysis of profits per hour of production generated by the different products. Paper towels generated the most profit.
The group was amazed. She heard comments such as:
Wow!
We never looked at profitability from that perspective.
Let’s plan and execute this idea.
Mary, we look forward to having you participate in future meeting focused on increasing profits and other business unit challenges.
After the meeting, Kelly invited Mary to lunch that day.
The lunch discussion went as follows.
Kelly: Mary, you were great! You established yourself as a thought leader.
Mary: I got that feeling.
Kelly: The suggestions were getting redundant before you spoke. I was getting bored, but you seemed so engaged. You must have a high threshold for boredom. I noticed that you continued to take notes.
Mary: I knew that my idea would “hit the nail on the head”.
Kelly: What notes did you write?
Mary: My notes were a list of capitals by state. (Mary shared her notes with Kelly.)
Kelly: This is brilliant!
Mary: Please don’t share this with anyone.
Kelly: I won’t. But, I am going to use this technique.
In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.
Have you witnessed radiator moments?
Do you know your position in your organization’s talent pool?
Are you satisfied with your position in your organization’s talent pool?
Do you know the criteria your organization uses to assess its talent?
Do you realize the implications of your position in the talent pool given the stage of your career and the business challenges confronting your company?
What are you doing to address your concerns?
How well are you managing the perception of your potential?
Did this article create an aha moment for you?
I invite you to share your comments, experiences, and suggestions. This helps me provide information that may help you address your career opportunities and challenges.
Linwood Bailey is a career coach and the author of The Business of Me: Your Job … Your Career … Your Value. The Business of Me provides a career management process that applies business processes to career management. Linwood, the been there coach, enables business professionals to increase their effectiveness by leveraging his 34 years of experience managing functions in multiple industries, regions, and corporate cultures.
Linwood offers complimentary coaching sessions. Visit the Contact page on the Fields of Success website to schedule a session.
Founder, Fields of Success, LLC
Enabling professionals to convert career opportunities and challenges into career success stories.
