Most of the times, when something is wrong, our first reaction is: it wasn’t me.
And most of the times, that really doesn’t matter. Because the point is that something is wrong, not who was the one who made it so.
Instead, you can try to say: I’ll fix it. Or: here’s what I will do about it.
When the wrong is righted, nobody will remember whose fault it was.
Don’t underestimate the effect of taking time.
Before sending out an important email.
Before replying to an unnerving message.
Before making a crucial decision.
Contrary to waiting, taking time is an intentional effort. It requires you to get out of the current situation and of the flow of emotions to make some distance between you and the subject of the intended action. It gives space for relaxation and reflection. It gifts clarity of mind.
There are some decisions you make as a company that go beyond the mere consequences of the decision.
Whether or not you will send a notification to a customer when a contract is up for auto-renewal.
Whether or not you will require a credit card to do a free trial.
Whether or not you are going to hire that talented woman who has just informed you they are pregnant.
Whether or not you will let go that nice colleague who is under-performing.
Whether or not only managers are allowed to talk at company updates.
Whether or not you are going to raise the salaries or invest in the tenth project management tool.
We are used to think of culture, values, and principles as something very abstract, something intangible, something that reads nicely on the career page of the website. But the truth is that some decisions determine what a company stands for much more strongly and definitively than any two lines crafted by the most skilled copywriter.
Three things you can start doing right away to unlock other people’s potential.
The moment you make an argument personal is the moment you lose it.
If your position is right because the other is wrong, or is an idiot, or did not do a good enough job, or is not as competent, your position is extremely weak. And even if you are right, there’s no way you can prove them wrong.
Keep discussions around facts instead and be ready to accept other opinions as valid and worth your consideration.
Arguments are negotiations, and no negotiation can leave one party empty-handed.
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