Svaha: the time between seeing lightning and hearing the thunder
I will be eternally grateful for your great gift of taking in to the fullest extent what it is that I have to offer, living it, and then reflecting it back in terms of the potential experience of others. You have given words to a process that defies words. And you’re constantly in a position to help me continue to hone that, deeper and deeper and more and more resonantly, who I am and what I offer, which is truly invaluable. — Jon Hansen, The Remembering Room, Richmond, Illinois
What you’ve sent me is so darn perfect it hurts! It’s a sheer pleasure to work with someone who writes as beautifully as you do — and in “my” voice. — Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D, smARTist® Telesummit, Millers Falls, Massachusetts
You have a real gift for words. You’re really, really good at it. — Sherry Essig, Priority Ventures Group, Raleigh, North Carolina
You’ve built such integrity of message in your company. I know that’s because it springs forth intrinsically, but you stay so focused at your core! I can’t think of a better way to phrase that laser-beam focus you have. It’s funny, because in someone else, laser-beam focus would be intense, but somehow you manage to make it much more kind and easy. — Jessica Albon, Thrive Your Tribe, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
I’ve never worked with anybody in the way that I’ve worked with you in terms of trusting in your abilities to the level that I have. — Catherine Hajnal PhD, Eight Branches Consulting, Vancouver, Canada ... facilitating and nurturing joyful living
You have an uncanny ability to see through what is being said and surface all the “unsaid” issues. Then you quickly give candid feedback and have a tremendous toolbox to help me move forward through your expert guidance of the right tool.
I have worked with many facilitators/coaches/counselors relating to work and personal situations. Your skills are exemplary and moved me faster than I ever expected. — Jennifer Baker, Fishers, Indiana
You bring both a spiritual perspective and some real-world hard-headedness. — Janet Bailey, Mindful Time Management, San Francisco, California
Brava! I wish I could draw a picture of me — you’d see me in a deep bow to you!
I read your newsletter as soon as it hits my in-box and you’re always right on with your advice. I had to let you know that this issue is particularly brilliant.
I will definitely keep this info — and your contact info — in a secure place.
Thanks so much for sharing your insight and wisdom. — Debbie Rodgers, CGA
You’re doing great work. Your team is focused, motivated, engaged, and productive. Your peers appreciate how you dive in and do what needs to be done. Your boss is successful because of you. Your processes, methods, and procedures are documented for the whole company as Best Practices. You’re not in it for personal recognition (though it’s nice when it happens) — you just deeply enjoy what you do and you enjoy being very good at it.
Then you start getting a weird feeling. Something’s not right. People who normally stop to talk with you in the hall seem to be avoiding you. Your boss frowns more often than usual. He cancels one of your regular meetings without rescheduling it. Your peers seem annoyed about something. You’re busy. You tell yourself that it’s just your imagination.
It’s not your imagination. Your boss finally tells you that he’s had negative feedback about your ability to be flexible, to listen to others, to collaborate in a team environment. Suddenly you’re talking with HR and hearing that other people — peers of your boss and your boss’s boss — have been wondering what’s up with you, why you’re so opinionated, why you seem to have no respect for authority.
What just happened? And how can you fix it — or keep it from happening in the first place?
You forgot to tell people — the right people — what you were doing and why. You not only forgot to tell them, you forgot to check to be sure it was aligned with where they thought you ought to be going.
So yes, you’re doing great work and getting good results. But you ignored the people you most need to be on your side: your boss, your boss’s boss, and all of their peers — especially those whose areas your work touches in any way. And when those people don’t feel secure that they know what you’re thinking and what you’ll do next, you risk being perceived as a loose cannon, someone operating a little too independently and unpredictably.
If what you do touches someone’s area in some way, they need to know what you’re doing. Depending on your corporate culture, how you tell them — and how much you need to tell them — will vary. But tell them you must.
How do you know if your work touches them?
This means you take time from other work that they could be doing.
If you’re changing direction or modifying process and procedure, you might suddenly start taking up more of that time. Even if in the end it’s an advance in productivity and effectiveness, it won’t be viewed as such unless you’ve communicated effectively and helped them understand why their team has to sacrifice (i.e., spend more of their valuable time on your stuff).
That could be data, a report, or the first half of something that they’ll add onto or incorporate into their product or process.
You’re part of their upstream critical path; they can’t do their job without you completing yours. Unexpected (i.e., uncommunicated) changes you make to your process threaten their sense of security about how they will accomplish their part.
Now they’re on your upstream critical path, and what they do affects your ability to do your job.
If you implement new procedures that require them to get their piece of the puzzle done sooner or faster or differently, they need to know about it and they will want to participate in the planning and approval process.
If they have any sort of responsibility — especially if it impacts the company’s profitability and results — for what you do, then even if you don’t report directly to them, they need to know what you’re up to. Especially if you’re taking on additional responsibility in this area.
Responsibility for the company’s fiscal health is weighty and tends to make people a little nervous about changes they weren’t informed of. No one likes surprises about things for which they’re held accountable.
No matter how much more productive and effective your changes make your team, your department, or the company as a whole, you’re going to be seen as a troublemaker if you haven’t engaged all the people involved. Understanding who really is involved means lifting your perspective to a broader view than you may have had.
In the end, it’s a matter of respect and courtesy. Even if you may not think someone should have anything to say about what you do or how you do it, if your actions have any effect on their area of responsibility, then you owe them the courtesy of keeping them informed.
And you owe yourself the security of getting their buy-in.
That could mean that some things you want to do get shot down. But better that, than to be shot down yourself!
“In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.” David M. Ogilvy, 1911-1999, English advertising executive known as “the Father of Advertising.”
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