In many of the communications workshops, I conduct for Senior Executives, one of the most requested expectations from the participants is how can they effectively report a situation to their Superiors. My response to them is, “Sure, used SCARED, and you will safely present to your Superior.”
Remember the acronym S-C-A-R-E-D, this 5-letter word that appropriately describes our feeling before presenting to our Superior. Use this step-by-step sequence to construct your thoughts and communicate the situation to your superior.
SITUATION
- When you begin, always state which situation you are referring to. Do not start with what happened. Your Superiors are busy people overseeing multiple situations (cases), hence provide them with the context than contend.
- E.g., Mr Tan, this is regarding the CRM project at DART Sdn Bhd.
COMPARE
- Once the situation is established and clear, then we communicate the gap. What is supposed to happen (the expected) vs What is happening now (the actual). This comparison must be made for several reasons. Using the above situation as an example;
- “Next Monday is supposed to be the commencement of Phase 3. However, we will only be able to do that three days later on Thursday.”’
- Stating the expected result first, “Phase 3 commencement on Monday”, let your Superior know that you are aware and understand what was targeted.
- Stating the expected first shows confidence on your part.
- Stating the expected first when done with the correct intonation and inflexion prepares the listener for the next part, which is actual. If the news is good or as expected, you can state the good news than the expected. E.g. “We are ahead of the project as we will be able to commence Phase 3 this Friday rather than the Schedule next Monday.”
- If we are on schedule. “As per the schedule, we will commence Phase 3 with the client on Monday.
ANALYSIS:
- For any result, always be prepared to respond with the analysis of what happened. This is applicable whether we are ahead, just-in-time or behind in any situation. You must be able to state the Cause, why we are where we are.
- Make sure you conduct a proper analysis to identify the causes for the gap before speaking to your superior. Furthermore, remember to limit it to a maximum of 3 Causes; make sure your analysis identifies the Cause specifically.
- A good tip on how to communicate this is after you complete the comparison, state that the analysis immediately, E.g. “Next Monday is the commencement of Phase 3 to the customer. However, we will only be able to do that three days later on Thursday. The reason for the delay is due to a coding glitch which we have identified but will need time to re-program, and UAT (user acceptance testing) will need to recommence again."
- Always prioritise quality over quantity when communicating the Cause Analysis.
RESPONSE to the ANALYSIS
- For each of the Analysis you raised, you must have a response to ensure it will happen as expected or be even more efficiently.
- E.g. “For the coding glitch, we are prepared to redeployed two additional Senior Programmers into the project to ensure we meet the Thursday dateline
EXECUTION Plan to the RESPONSE
- Always be prepared to further elaborate on the Execution Plan after you have stated your response. You will likely be questioned more on it. Your Execution Plan must answer all the 5W and 1H.
- E.g. “The current programmers have prepared the brief for the Senior Programmers. We will communicate with them first thing tomorrow morning. We will ensure they are well aware of the coding glitch. Furthermore, we are also re-designing the critical areas to quicken the UAT in the second round.
DECISION
- At the end of the session, there must be a decision. Allow your Superior to make the decision. However, give your opinion if asked. Be confident to state it. Their decision will be:
- Expected- This is according to what you prepared and stated above. Be open to any suggestions and further comments
- Unexpected- This is the outcome we did not foresee. In such cases, always listen to their feedback and respond accordingly.
Either way, you have done an excellent job systematically communicating a situation at work to them. Hopefully, with SCARED, you will be more confident in communicating with your Superiors.
