Back in the old days (when I was growing up), daytime television was composed of soap operas. Today it’s slightly different. Today there are a plethora of judge TV shows.
Is there anything we learn professionally from Judy Judy that we can use in our career advancement?
ABSOLUTELY!
Some of the things are:
- Most disputes stem from miscommunications
- Document expectations to reduce miscommunication
- Answer the questions being asked
- People get pissed-off when they think you are hiding something
To avoid miscommunication: Paraphrase everything you think they are saying back to them. This gives them the opportunity to correct you or agree with you. Ask them to repeat what you say to them. This gives you the opportunity to see if they heard what you meant to say.
Document expectations: Write down your agreement to include measurable criteria , who is responsible for what, and reasonable time line. Also include consequences on any missed goals and deadlines. Sign and date. If you verbally alter agreement, then document the changes, sign and date. (For more information on Change Management Strategies, contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info)
Answer the questions being asked: I recently asked a vendor about their status on my project XYZ. They quickly told me the status of their project ABC. That was nice, but I was interested and asked about my project. The deflection frustrated me and I had to ask again.
People get pissed-off when they think you are hiding something: The above Q&A repeated once again, until I lost patience. I imagined that they had not spent any time on my project; and didn’t have any status to report. Since I had a signed contract that identified expectations, time frames and consequences, I was able to discontinued their service without payment and found a better fit.
How can you re-use these lessons in your profession?
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