{"id":1150,"date":"2025-04-29T19:41:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/?p=1150"},"modified":"2026-04-26T22:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T22:21:16","slug":"breaking-through-the-busy-person-bottleneck-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/2025\/04\/29\/breaking-through-the-busy-person-bottleneck-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking through the busy-leader bottleneck, Part II\u2014emails"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8220;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8220;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8220;{}&#8220;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8220;2_5,3_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8220;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8220;initial&#8220; background_position=&#8220;top_left&#8220; background_repeat=&#8220;repeat&#8220; global_colors_info=&#8220;{}&#8220;][et_pb_column type=&#8220;2_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8220;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8220;|||&#8220; global_colors_info=&#8220;{}&#8220; custom_padding__hover=&#8220;|||&#8220;][et_pb_image src=&#8220;https:\/\/intellerate.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/allowing-the-house-to-look-vacant-1737752928-1877935842.jpg&#8220; alt=&#8220;An image of water flowing down a stream with a tree trunk over it&#8220; title_text=&#8220;allowing-the-house-to-look-vacant-1737752928-1877935842&#8243; _builder_version=&#8220;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8220;default&#8220; global_colors_info=&#8220;{}&#8220;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8220;3_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8220;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8220;|||&#8220; global_colors_info=&#8220;{}&#8220; custom_padding__hover=&#8220;|||&#8220;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8220;4.27.4&#8243; background_size=&#8220;initial&#8220; background_position=&#8220;top_left&#8220; background_repeat=&#8220;repeat&#8220; global_colors_info=&#8220;{}&#8220;]One of the most common complaints I hear from clients is that a <strong>busy leader is not responding to an important e-mail.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The frustration is clear. Even if they don\u2019t say it out loud, the underlying sentiment is <em>Why aren\u2019t they responding? Don\u2019t they get how important this is?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you read my <a href=\"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/breaking-through-the-busy-leader-bottleneck-part-i\/\">last e-newsletter<\/a>, \u201cSix truths about working with busy leaders,\u201d you know that <strong>they\u2019re not maliciously ignoring you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As I describe in this post, breaking through the busy-leader bottleneck requires you to consider not just <strong>what you write<\/strong>, but also the <strong>unique habits and preferences of the recipient.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Craft messages that demand attention<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Love it or hate it, e-mail is one of our main methods for professional communication. This makes e-mail one of the most common sources of <strong>busy-leader bottlenecks. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As I noted in my last newsletter, your busy leader is likely reading your message on their phone, between meetings.<\/p>\n<p>Your job is to make it as easy as possible for them to read and respond, with as little back-and-forth as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you\u2019re an experienced communicator, run through this checklist before clicking \u201csend\u201d:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Do you have an action-oriented subject line?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Does your \u201cask\u201d appear in the first 1\u20132 sentences of your message? <\/strong>(Also known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@deluca.gabi\/bluf-the-method-for-better-and-effective-written-communication-179f46827d34\">BLUF method<\/a>, which puts the bottom line up front.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do you point out that you cannot move forward without their action?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Do you provide a clear deadline? <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>E-mail makeover: From ignored to actioned<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Original:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Subject: Checking in re conference program<\/p>\n<p>Dear Jane,<\/p>\n<p><em>I hope this message finds you well! Our team has been working hard to iron out the details of our summer conference. We\u2019re really excited about the lineup and have some terrific speakers planned. Do you think you could take a look at the program when you have a chance and let me know what you think? Once we have your approval, we\u2019ll be able to post it to our conference website.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Try this:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Subject: Action needed by May 15: Conference program approval<\/p>\n<p>Dear Jane,<\/p>\n<p><em>Could you please review and approve the attached conference program by May 15? We\u2019re eager to start marketing the event. Once we have your approval, we will post the program to our website and launch event publicity.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>Five ways to break through to busy leaders<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Even perfectly crafted e-mails can get buried in someone\u2019s inbox if you don\u2019t think about <strong>how and when your busy leader will read it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Here are five strategies that I\u2019ve developed:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Learn their e-mail habits.<\/strong> When do they check and respond to messages? Should an assistant be copied on correspondence? If you have a collegial relationship, ask directly\u2014they\u2019ll be grateful you did! Otherwise, become an armchair detective and try to draw your own conclusions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Offer a short phone call. <\/strong>Often a 5-minute chat is more efficient than exchanging multiple e-mails. Try including this line: <em>If it would be simpler to discuss by phone, please feel free to call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. I am available [insert available times].<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Establish a routine of sending a summary e-mail. <\/strong>Compile key updates, questions, and action items into a single e-mail, and send it when you know your busy leader has time to read, process, and respond. This approach works best when you discuss it in advance with your leader and your team.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t hesitate to follow up. <\/strong>Many people are afraid of being too pushy, but remember that busy leaders usually aren\u2019t ignoring you intentionally. When following up, include a phrase like \u201creminder\u201d in the subject line and include as much of the original text as possible so that they don\u2019t need to hunt for your initial e-mail.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Combine with other communication modes.<\/strong> If appropriate, use text messages to alert busy leaders to urgent e-mails. I found this approach especially effective when working with people who were away from their desk for long stretches. For example: <em>Good afternoon, Dr. X! We need you to sign off on this decision today. Check your inbox for details. Could you please respond at your earliest convenience?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>E-mail communication with busy leaders is a choose-your-own adventure. If one approach doesn\u2019t work, then try another.<\/p>\n<p>Once you have an effective e-mail routine, it will be easier to get important work done. I\u2019ll discuss that in my next post.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Breaking through the busy-leader bottleneck requires you to consider not just what you write, but also the unique habits and preferences of the recipient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,17,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication","category-leadership","category-taking-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1150"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1173,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions\/1173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}