Monthly Archives: May 2013

#146 Speak up!

Send to Kindle

The world is an uncertain place. Anything that happens to make things look worse is annoying, and even frustrating. How you communicate will decide whether your audience thinks you are giving good news or bad news, whether they will listen to what you have to say, and whether they will believe in you. Anything that makes the world look better is not necessarily a cause for celebration, but don’t over think this.

When I was reading Carol A. Fleming’s book, I was struck by how much easier it would be and how much faster things would move in the workplace if we all just communicate with confidence.

If you are tense or hesitant when you communicate, your audience will conclude one of two things.

  • There must be something wrong, so they tend to get tense and hesitant.
  • They sense you are not very confident. This will evoke a range of emotions, ranging from mistrust, irritation, to downright anger.

Just as some people use heart monitors when jogging, every person in the workplace should be given a device that can be work on the wrist, showing how their voice is coming across to their listeners. Now that is a product idea! Wonder if there is an app for that…

Share

#145 Assessing reliability

Send to Kindle

In an earlier blog, we talked about assessing dependability. That is only one part of the equation for evaluating your capability to execute. The other part is the reliability.

In measuring dependability, we look at whether a promise was kept. In reliability, we look at the speed of keeping a promise.

Measuring reliability

Measuring reliability

This is not meant to be a six sigma level measurement. Often a quick assessment is not only cost effective, but a career saver. Be sure to use data, not your opinion. One fail safe way to implement this is to make a clear and explicit request. Then measure how quickly you got the request serviced.

Be sure to understand your role in this equation. If you do not have clarity on outcomes or what success looks like, you should spend time getting this, or ask for help to define success. Clarity includes matters like budget and timeline, and any constraints that you may be aware of. If you make a foggy request, it is unfair on your part to hold your partner or service provider accountable.

If your partner or service provider does not understand your request or cannot help you clarify it, it is definitely time to get a new partner or service provider. Don’t settle for second best, because that is what you are going to get.

Share