This is advice for IC PMs in small-ish teams or orgs who need to communicate with their skip level and above.
The pre-work for you is to understand what you need from this high level person. Do you need them to:
From there, here are my general templates:
Update on On Track Status
When it’s On Track
Email Subject: Status Update on Project Name / Item
Email Body: Project Name: On Track to *3-4 word description of important deliverable that you know they care about *****by date
- 1-3 Work Items with a brief description of what’s being worked on.
- Side note: I like to shout out other IC’s by name when they’re doing great work, especially if their role doesn’t usually have them communicating to a high level person.
⚠️ don’t include more than 3 work items
When you need them to unblock you in some way
- Your goal here is to make it as easy as possible for them.
When you need them to make a decision
- Try to do AS MUCH pre-work for them as you possibly can. All the research, all the info.
When you need them to unblock you to help with an emergency
SOME Important CAVEATS: