I find it interesting to see the number of people who blame their suppliers, their employees, and even their clients when things go wrong in their business, jobs run behind schedule or when tasks simply don’t get handled at all.
Perhaps a client or customer has not paid you for a service you have provided, even after multiple follow-ups. Maybe you have employees who show up late, don’t do work in the correct manner, take extra/unnecessary sick days, and generally dictate terms to you, their employer. Suppliers may be overcharging for materials or not fulfilling on their end of the agreement.
So, how do you avoid this happening, or at least minimise the impact?
You may feel as though you are the victim in this situation, yet in any relationship there is always something that each party can be responsible for when there is a breakdown.
What can you find in the relationship that you can be responsible for? Perhaps it’s communicating more openly and being upfront about the challenges you are experiencing. Could you have been clearer and more direct in communication with your team player who is not performing? Are you able to hold them accountable to position descriptions and KPIs that you have in place?
When coming up against a challenge with another person, taking responsibility and looking at what you can do to rectify the situation goes a long way to solving the issue. It is also far more productive than simply complaining and finding fault.
When you don’t value yourself or your time, you don’t;
… to name a few
Realise that you absolutely have the right to acknowledge your needs (and those of your business) and take action to ensure they are met.
This is not simply about being honest in dealings with other people, it’s about telling the truth to yourself about the situation. Putting your head in the sand hoping that the situation will improve rarely fixes it. Raising your standards, being honest with yourself, and acting on points one and two, enables events to be fixed a lot quicker and ensure they do not happen again.
Moving forward in all your relationships, take ownership and you’ll be surprised at how the results can shift.
For more information on having the tough conversations, and creating clarity and focus in your workplace, contact the PROTRADE United team on 1300 767 774.
Written by Jon Mailer
CEO of PROTRADE United
www.protradeunited.com.au
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