I’ve listed a series of self-coaching questions here for your consideration. My suggestion would be to utilize these queries to analyze what’s working and what’s not working in your interviews and networking meetings. I would suggest doing this in writing unless you have access to a coach or objective third party you can leverage as a sounding board. There is great value in written or spoken reflection that simply cannot be captured when we talk to ourselves.
First, consider the big picture:
- What was the purpose of the discussion?
- Was the purpose achieved?
- If yes, how?
- If not, why not?
- What enabled its realization?
- What prevented its realization?
- How did you feel about the meeting?
- How did you feel about your performance?
- How do you think the others in the meeting felt about it?
- What do you think about the meeting now?
- What do you think the others think about it now?
- What was positive about the discussion?
- What was negative about the discussion?
- What, in your opinion, went well?
- What, in your opinion, did not go well?
- What did you do that contributed to things going well?
- What did the others in the meeting contribute to things going well?
- How could this discussion have had a more positive outcome?
- If you conduct a discussion like this one again (or have another interview), what would you do differently?
- What skills do you need to learn or improve to enhance your next meeting/interview?
As an experienced executive you may have a lot of negotiations or communications experience, but there’s no substitute for good old-fashioned preparation. After all, this kind of reflection might make the difference between a fruitless conversation and an effective dialogue that opens the door to rich career possibilities.