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How to Be Taken Seriously - by Tessa Xie - Diving Into Data

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I once overheard an elevator conversation between two managers. One of them was talking about a direct report: “He’s not ready to be promoted. Every time I ask him a question, I get this long-winded answer that’s loaded with unnecessary details… ” This manager was saying out loud what a lot of managers and executives are thinking (but rarely give as direct feedback). Too much detail doesn’t make you seem more capable — on the contrary, it makes you look junior. As a manager, I have led teams and coached a lot of bright DS in my career. Part of a manager’s job is to determine, among a team of bright people, who to pull in for what work. Managers can usually quickly form a “gut feeling” about who they can bring in to lead cross-functional work streams independently versus who can execute but isn’t ready for leadership yet — whether formal (e.g. as a tech lead) or informal (leading a project). So what are the key distinguishers between these two groups of individuals? After talking to a l

I once overheard an elevator conversation between two managers. One of them was talking about a direct report: “He’s not ready to be promoted. Every time I ask him a question, I get this long-winded answer that’s loaded with unnecessary details… ” This manager was saying out loud what a lot of managers and executives are thinking (but rarely give as direct feedback). Too much detail doesn’t make you seem more capable — on the contrary, it makes you look junior. As a manager, I have led teams and coached a lot of bright DS in my career. Part of a manager’s job is to determine, among a team…

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