I’ve learned that communication (as it relates to communicating details to the right person at the right time) is NOT a strength of mine. Nearly every review, assessment, and evaluation communication ranks as one of my weaknesses.
Though I can improve on this, I’ve resolved that this will likely always be my achiles heel. And I’m okay with that. My greatest tool for managing this weakness is managing the expectations of others.
I have dozens of conversations throughout the weekend with church attenders. In many of these conversations I have a solution or course of action for follow up. This is where I get in trouble. Within a 45 second conversation I will make a promise to follow up the next week. The problem is… I commit to an action step but I don’t define for that person what I’m going to do or when I’m going to do it.
The person I just spoke with has the assurance that I will follow through, but here are the issues I’ve come up against:
- They’re expected time frame may look different than mine
- They’re expected outcome may look different than mine
I’ve learned that people come with their own set of expectations and if you don’t meet these expectations they won’t like the resolution… no matter how right the resolution is. So, I shape their expectations before I leave the conversation. I make sure they know the following:
- when they can expect me to take action
- what my actions will be
- how the outcome might look
- what they can do to ensure I don’t forget
The final bullet may not be necessary for anyone else. It works for me. I make it a joke. I let them know that if they want to ‘seal the deal’ then send me a follow up email just to be on the safe side. I believe this violates many customer service type mentalities as it communicates that I might forget something as significant as the needs of the person standing before me… and I should have a system in place so I won’t forget… etc, etc. I’m not arguing that. And maybe when I grow up I can do that too. At this point in my life, this works. And it keeps the poop from hitting the fan. S’all I’m shoutin’.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Thanks for leading me through this…I’m learning to do the same and it is a constant struggle, but getting better
February 17th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I am quickly finding this approach is needed within a team at any level. The clearer and simpler the expectations are spelled out, the better. Great list!
February 17th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Keep shoutin’! Even someone who “believes” they are extremely effective at communicating can miss the mark. I think the fact that you admit the weakness and do all you can to overcome it is half the battle. In 100 years will it matter that you called me back on Wednesday instead of Tuesday like I hoped you would?