🔐 The Art and Power of Language

Technical Program Managers often hear this advice - be a great communicator to be an effective leader. To do that, you must command the power of language.

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Photo by Matheus Viana on Unsplash

Our words are powerful.

The manner and combination in which we use our words have the power to turn a tense situation into a productive one or take it into a more confrontational direction, less productive. They have the power to drive a complex program forward or stall it.

The command of language for Technical Program Managers is as important as our command of technical concepts and program management skills.

You have heard this before:

“So and so is a great story teller”

“So and so can handle any tense situation”

“So and so can handle any complex program, I want them leading this”.

“So and so is really superb with exec reviews and talk to execs in general.”

“So and so is great at writing status.”

TPMs operate in a space that requires constant communication both written and verbal. Whether that is with executive stakeholders or individual engineers or designers or Product Managers, the command over language sets apart the average TPM from the Great TPM.

But, what does it mean to have “Command of Language”?

We tend to equate command with strength and strength can come from numbers. So, it’s logical to assume that I am implying you must know a lot of fancy words. Quite the contrary.

It is not about using fancy words or GMAT level correspondence. It doesn’t mean that you are at a disadvantage if English is your second language. Far from it.

Command is the sum of three components:

• The combination

• The delivery

• The timing

Let’s breakdown each of these.

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TL;DR Summary

Technical Program Managers (TPMs) need to have a command of language in order to effectively lead complex programs. This involves the use of a combination of words to create an emotional response, the delivery of the words, and the timing of when the words are used.

Specific words TPMs can use include "what if", "have we", "let's try", "I don't know", and "I understand", which can lead to more productive conversations.

Command of language comes from the combination of words, delivery, and timing.

Read on for more details and examples of commanding leverage.

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