You need to have a point of view

But it doesn't have to be right

👋 Hi, it's Greg and Taylor. Welcome to our newsletter on everything you wish your CEO told you about how to get ahead.

As a rising executive, there is one skill that you cannot avoid – or compensate for by developing other strengths.

If you want to be in the room, you NEED to have a point of view.

This might seem obvious, but it’s actually rare. A lot of rising executives are afraid to fail, so they’re worried about committing to a point of view that might be “wrong.” When asked, “What should we do?” they think out loud – or worse, hem and haw because they’re afraid of recommending something that doesn’t work.

But here’s the secret to having a point of view: You don’t actually need to be right. Scott Galloway sits on our board (along with a lot of others), he always has an opinion, and he’s “right” probably 40% of the time.

The real skill of leadership is being willing to venture an opinion that’s directionally sound, shows that you’re tracking what’s important, and is expressed succinctly. It’s not about being “correct” - you’re not taking a test.

Articulating a clear, specific point of view is what signals to me that someone is “high potential” no matter their role or level. If you never speak up with a point of view – or constantly hedge – you’ll stop being asked.

Here’s how to do it.

- Taylor

Don’t do this when asked for your opinion

When people are asked, “What should we do?” they often do one of four things:

Mistake 1: They riff or “think out loud.” Instead of quickly putting structure around their thoughts, they list out all possible options and implications in real time. “Well, we could do this, but this might happen … or we could do this other thing, and this might happen.” In the end you’re not clear on what their opinion is, and they’ve made themselves look less senior.

Mistake 2: They defer. They don’t want to be on the hook for the decision, so they say, “Let’s go with what the client wants” or “I don’t know, what would you do in this situation?”

Mistake 3: They force you to pull it out of them. They don’t want to commit to a side, so they hedge. They make you say, “Okay, if you HAD to pick.”

Mistake 4: They actually DO have an opinion – but it’s way off base. Some people have an opinion (sometimes a really strongly held one) but it’s really off base and makes me think they don’t understand the business or did not track the conversation. Sure, you can completely whiff once in a while - but if this is happening a lot, then you are not ready.

How to get to a “good enough” opinion quickly

When you’re asked for your opinion, it’s often during a meeting where you can’t punt to the next day. High potential leaders don’t say, “Let me get back to you about that…”

Instead, use this quick mental framework to figure out your opinion and express it quickly and concisely.

1. Verbally establish the objective. Start by saying something like, “Given that our goal is [X] …” This isn’t just a stalling maneuver - it establishes that you’re all on the same page about what the goal is. If you’re all imagining different objectives, your strategy conversation will start off misaligned. If you say, “Given that our goal is driving incremental revenue…”, your boss can jump in and say, “Actually, I’m thinking our goal is laying the groundwork for expansion next year.”

2. Make a recommendation that ladders up to that objective. Once you’ve established the objective, it’s easier to sort your options by whether they meet that objective. “Given that our goal is laying the groundwork for expansion, I recommend we start quickly with a small group so that they can see wins within 30 days.”

3. Support your recommendation with some data or relevant insight. If your opinion is formed from data, reveal at least some of that data in the conversation. If it’s based on your previous experience, explain what that was and why it’s relevant. And if there is no data or prior experience to guide your point of view, then provide some relevant insight that bolsters your answer. Remember, it does not have to be a lot of data or insight - but some.

4. Acknowledge what you’re still thinking about. Like I said, you don’t need to have everything figured out – if there are unresolved issues, acknowledge them (quickly) without diluting your opinion. “That said, knowing that we want to drive expansion, I’d want to make sure we have a clear plan with the client for expanding after 30 days so that we don’t get stuck in pilot phase.”

Our advice

Being an executive is hard. You have to make a lot of decisions, often with not-quite-enough information, and take the heat for them if they don’t work out. That’s why executives need people on their team who can share the load by venturing a point of view and engaging in smart conversations.

You don’t have to start with high-risk opinions. Get practice with lower-stakes situations. Venture a point of view when the outcome doesn’t matter that much, so you’ll be prepared when it does matter.

And by the way, you will ALWAYS need this ability when: 1. You interview for a new role or 2. Your boss goes out on parental leave and you report to your skip level for a few months. Maybe we should have written this post 4 months ago!

Start practicing now.

Have a great week,

Greg and Taylor