Tag: relationships

Patches

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Many organisations mistake customer centricity for customer support or customer success.

Yet, having the customer at the core of what you do is not about being there when they need help and collecting high scores on a satisfaction survey. It is actually more about aiming at getting rid of those things, because when the customer is embedded in the business, you know already if they need help and when, whether they are happy or not, what they want to see in the product next and how their businesses are developing.

You actually know, in many cases, before they do.

So, instead of putting patches on the relationship with those who determine your (organisation’s) success, start investing time and resources in crafting the relationship. Listen. The rest will follow.

Endorsement

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Endorsing someone or something demands a huge amount of honesty and awareness.

Honesty, because you need to be absolutely sincere both with those you recommend and with those you recommend to. The former need to know what you stand for, what you can and cannot accept, what you will do in case trust is broken. The latter will hold you accountable and decide whether to confirm or dispute your reputation

Awareness, because you not only need to know which values are at stake, but also if and when they are challenged, how you would react, and what you would do to continue on your path.

This is good to keep in mind in a context where everyone is an influencer. And a good reminder also for when you write a recommendation for a colleague or share the profile of a friend who is looking for a job.

Things done right

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The moment we think: “if you want things done right, do it yourself”. That is the moment things actually stop being done.

No matter the level we reach in our career, we are not responsible for everything and we are not capable of doing everything. The illusion that telling others what needs to be done would take simply too much time, or that what lands on our desk is something we need to take care of in person, is just an excuse to postpone that difficult conversation, that report that requires your full attention, that speaking engagement you always wanted to take.

It is resistance.

By being unwilling to delegate tasks that others could reasonably help with, we fail to make progress on the important or tricky things that only we can do.

How to have a good day, Caroline Webb

P.S.: This is as true as it gets even for managers who still cling to completing tasks instead of taking responsibility for the development of their team.

Overwhelmed

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What is your tactic when you fell overwhelmed?

Those moments when you cannot think clear, you have tens of forces from different places pushing on your skulls, and the amygdala is about to take control with your favourite version of fight, flight or freeze?

Moments like that happen many times throughout the days, and it is often enough to take a few deep breaths to get back on track. Ideally, you might take a full 5-minutes break to unplug. But that is not always possible, and so just breathing in and out for 4-5 consecutive times, focusing on the breath itself or on your belly going up and down, can do magic.

Give it a try.

Gap

FabrizioLeave a comment

And of course, this is a direct consequence of the fact that concepts are susceptible to different interpretations.

As long as organizations will continue approaching culture as a list of evocative words, the gap between culture (what management wants) and climate (what employees experience) will remain wide. And values statement will be abstract, generic and aimless.