7 Dirty IT Words: Don't Say These In The C-Suite
Want to win over the bosses? Wipe these words and phrases from your IT vocabulary.
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Are you using dirty words at work?
We're not referring to those dirty words -- you know the ones we mean. (And if you don't, the Internet is a wonderful tutor in foul language.) You (hopefully) don't need to be advised that it's not a great idea to walk around your office barking all manner of profanities, bathroom jokes, and other inappropriate vocabulary.
No, we're talking about a subtler breed of bad words that, if you're not careful, can sink you and your reputation at work -- especially when communicating with upper management. How subtle? How about a word like "just"? It's a mighty fine word in plenty of contexts -- but in the wrong one, it suddenly becomes an excuse-maker -- and a potential cap on your upward mobility. Again, we'll explain further.
Does this stuff really matter? Plenty, especially if you're hoping to move up the organizational chart or, at least, earn a raise at some point. Knowing how to communicate has become increasingly crucial for IT pros -- especially when communicating up the chain of command. Just as you can reap rewards by learning how to speak C-suite, it can also pay to know what not to say, especially when speaking with the highest levels of management. At any level, proper communication is a key for IT pros who want to gain credibility with other areas of the company.
"Proper" communication often comes down to the word level. A lack of self-awareness about how you speak and write -- again, especially with higher-ups -- is the equivalent of sloppy code. Sure, maybe the "bugs" will be relatively minor and no one will notice. But even minor issues tend to stockpile into a larger problem at some point. You can polish your verbal presentation just as you can clean up your code.
We focused here on the quieter words we all tend to use on a regular basis, the ones that can create the wrong image when uttered too frequently or to the wrong audience -- like, say, the bosses. We'll trust that you value your paycheck enough to know not to call your boss or other higher-ups a "bleep-for-brains" or to tell a particularly crude joke at a wildly inappropriate time.
Instead, consider these seven terms and phrases -- and all of their variants, of course -- that we might not even realize we're saying when communicating up the food chain. In a vacuum, they're harmless, even boring. But in the C-suite and similar high-stakes venues, these convey a negative picture: That you don't understand company priorities, that you're not a team player, that you're incapable of solving problems, and even that you're a miserable jerk. Bottom line: You might be suggesting that you're not that good at your job. We're willing to bet you probably are good at your job and, if anything, you deserve more recognition than you're currently getting. (If we're wrong about that -- well, sorry.)
Yeah, your technical skills are what got you hired. Your communication skills will help keep you that way -- and maybe get you a bit more of that overdue recognition. In the bring-your-own-everything era, where people say "disruption" as if it's always a wonderful thing (look it up), IT sometimes suffers from a branding problem. Choosing the right words at the right time can shine a better light on the good work you're doing.
Check out the "dirty words" on the following pages, and let us know if you agree they should be banned. Have you ever said the wrong thing to the bosses? We'd love to hear all about it in the comments section below.
Even if it's sometimes the honest answer, "I don't know" is rarely the answer anyone in the C-suite actually wants to hear. When you're unsure of something, or don't want to say the wrong thing on the spot, you're often better off with: "Let me look into that and get you specifics as soon as possible." That conveys action and follow-up. "I don't know" sounds like inertia or, worse, incompetence.
You've probably heard the sayings "dress for success" or "dress for the job you want." Similarly, you may have heard career advice to the effect of: Perform at a level (or two) beyond your actual job description to prove you deserve a promotion and raise. Saying "I'm just the [insert job title here]" to upper management is essentially the opposite -- you're pigeonholing your role and future prospects. Not to mention that it just sounds like an excuse, the verbal equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and humming "la la la la" when a superior asks a challenging question.
One of our favorite bits of IT wisdom in recent years continues to ring true. We're now in the age of bring-your-own-everything, "shadow IT," considerable changes to traditional processes and organizational strategies such as DevOps, and similar developments. It's time to stop calling everything that falls outside of the IT department -- the C-suite included -- "the business." It clearly suggests, among other problems with the phrase, that you're not a part of the business. And that's just bad for business.
Successful IT pros are often great enablers of big-picture business goals. But there's a difference between being a doer and being a doormat. If you find yourself repeatedly saying "sure!" (or its close relative "Yes!") without fully considering what you're agreeing to, you could find yourself on the wrong end of budget overruns, projects that never get off the ground, "scope creep," and other issues. True, the bosses aren't going to want to hear a refrain of "no," either. So consider qualifiers when necessary to manage expectations, such as "Sure, if X, Y, and Z occur."
"We can't do that" might be the honest answer -- especially when responding to unreasonable or virtually impossible requests -- but it's often not the "right" one in the C-suite. When faced with questions to which "can't" might be the first answer you want to give ("No, we can't redo our entire website by Friday."), look to explain the reasons we can't, instead of just saying it. Two places to look: Explain obstacles in terms of bottom-line costs or in terms of risks. These are two things that nontechnical people can understand. Nobody wants to be the one to introduce unwanted security holes as a result of forcing a project to move too quickly.
Speaking in absolutes is rarely wise in a business world, where the only true absolute is change. Don't set yourself -- or your career -- up for a fall by saying "never" when that's an unattainable status. Example: The CEO points to latest high-profile security break and asks, "Can that happen to us?" When is "never" the right answer to this question? (Hint: Never.)
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