I’ve been an executive coach for the past 16 years — literally, the longest I have held any single job title in my entire career. In that time, I have touched the professional (and, by extension, personal) lives of more than 300 leaders.

For every corporate leader I have coached, I have interviewed that person’s boss, the person responsible for the business results of my client’s leadership. At least half of my clients have had two or more bosses. (Hello, matrix reporting!) So, in fact, I have interviewed roughly 450 bosses.

Across all those leaders and their bosses, a consistent pattern has emerged. In this blog series, I will introduce what your boss wants you to know, along with some tools to help you incorporate them into your leadership.

The Soft Stuff

In the early days, I went into these boss interviews prepared to hear a hard-edged, quantifiable game plan for my client. Something like: I’m counting on her to grow product sales by 20 percent. Or, He should be increasing follow-on business within his existing client base. Or, She’s missed her forecast for the last three quarters. She needs a win.

 Certainly, this is how the boss speaks to the person I’m coaching. In their one-on-ones and on the surface, it’s all about driving the business, pushing for results.

But this is not what they talk about with me.

When it comes to having a conversation about your career trajectory and your development, the conversation quickly turns to what many of your bosses call “the soft stuff.”

Yet, there is nothing “soft” about what they’re telling me. They’re describing real deal breakers that are crucial to your success as a leader. Your boss might know you need to dress differently; or stop partying after hours with people who now report to you or speak up in meetings. She will likely not tell you this. She will say something like, “You need to be more strategic.” You might nod in agreement, but you’ll walk away wondering what, exactly, you should be doing differently.

The Invisibles

I call these deal breakers “The Invisibles.” The Invisibles are those beneath-the-surface qualities and actions that make a difference in whether you move on to the next level, but which nobody is telling you about. They impact your career, yet you may be blind to them.

The problem with The Invisibles is that while people around you perceive their presence in you or their lack in you, they’re tough to articulate. Moreover, no one can really demand that you embrace them — even if they could find the words to tell you what they are.

Your Invisibles might require you start doing new things that are outside your comfort zone — for example, making regular presentations to the Board of Directors. They might require you to stop doing things that are inside your comfort zone, like micromanaging the tasks you used to be responsible for – instead of taking a step back and managing the operation.

And guess what? To get to the rarified summit where your bosses now sit, they had to ferret out their own Invisibles. To advance your career and join them on that summit, you must root around the subterranean territory of your own Invisibles until you figure out what your bosses want you to let go of and what they want you to hold on to.

The good news is your bosses have left a trail of breadcrumbs. There are Invisibles that I have consistently heard, across all those bosses of all those leaders, when they are struggling to articulate “the soft stuff.” In this series of posts, I’ll share the top three things your boss wants you to know.

For now, what are your invisibles? Please leave a comment below.

Are you ready to move your business forward with tangible results? Click HERE to schedule a free consultation with Karen.