You are in Dallas, TX as a project manager heading up a team that is testing and

Question

You are in Dallas, TX as a project manager heading up a team that is testing and ultimately installing a new database system for a chain of hospitals. You are assisted by Tom Evans and Sally Chu and so far everything is going very well. You are five days ahead of schedule on a project that was expected to take 20 working days, and the client has been impressed by your expertise.

Today you received an e-mail invitation to attend a hastily put together two-day symposium on cyber-threats that will be held at The University of Texas at Austin next week. It is an honor to be invited to this gathering which will include some of the biggest names in the field. You would really like to attend. The problem is that you are in Texas on assignment and you are not at all sure how your manager will react to your asking to leave the project for a few days. (It would be impossible to commute.)

So you call Doug Spellman, your manager, and explain the situation. He is sympathetic but somewhat hesitant. “I don’t know about this. I know you are ahead of schedule but how is it going to look having you disappear for three days. And that is what it will actually be with the travel time. This is an important installation for us and we don’t want anything to go wrong.”

You tell him you understand but you have two very good people working with you and this will not only be an informative symposium but it will reflect well on the company that you attend. “Yeah, yeah, I know all that,” says Doug. “I’m going to have to take this upstairs to get approval. You need to send me a request in writing justifying the time, the expense, and your absence. And hey, how about explaining how you intend to still be a project manager when you’re not even there.”

“Taking it upstairs” is Doug’s way of telling you he is fine with the idea but has to cover himself with his manager. You tell him you will have the request to him by tonight.

Feel free to add details as long as they do not contradict the essential basics of the situation. This request should be no longer than one-page. It will be sent to Doug as your primary reader but you are aware there will be secondary readers as well. Keep all your audiences in mind.

I GAVE THE WHOLE SCENARIO AND PLACED IN BOLD WHAT NEED TO BE INCLUDED. My question is how do I approach about writing something like this?

Explanation / Answer

When writing a letter to superiors, it requires putting up all your view points in diplomatic way. The letter should give clear picture of what it is about and what you are expecting the end result to be when the superior goes through it. As always start of the subject line that gives a rough idea about what the body of letter is about.

Ex: Requesting approval for attending Symposium on Cyber-treats at The University of Texas.

You can start of the body of letter by mentioning that the dates and location where symposium takes place. Mention about the relevance of the topic to your present work/organization so that the superior may find that it is to the organization’s benefit that you attend the event. Mention about the likely popular tech personalities who would attend the event. Also, provide web link of the event or news article of earlier such gathering, so that the superiors who are unaware of significance of the event can have a look and take an informed decision.

Obviously, the thing that would be holding back the superiors from giving you the go ahead is your current assignment. So, give a status update on the current project and highlight that you are ahead of the project schedule by considerable margin. Also include a line or two about your efficient team members. This would give the superior an impression that the project would not go haywire in your absence, since the team has competent members working on the project.

End the mail by stating your interest in attending the event and also mentioning again the benefits to the organization in doing so.

The generic precautions to be taken care while writing a letter to higher ups are to make the letter more of suggestive rather than giving advice type, request rather than saying what you think. It is always better to put all the positive aspects in front of your boss so that he/she is compelled to see the advantages and take a decision in your favour.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse Y
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.