Communication at Work - Why You Won't Survive Without It
"Maria Montgomery is a very professional smart, and efficient writer, with a lot of great stories to tell, and her work attitude is unbeatable. Highly recommended!" I saw this feedback from a client this morning, which made me reflect on the work I delivered for him.
It wasn't always smooth sailing.
First I wrote a book for him that was slightly off topic from what he wanted due to a minor miscommunication. I hadn’t listened enough to what he truly wanted and he hadn’t checked my work enough to see where I was heading with it. As a result I had to rewrite the book for him.
It made me realize that for anyone to deliver good work, they first have to be absolutely clear on what is needed. I also realized that no matter how clear you think you’ve communicated what you want, you have to check in along the way. Work develops. And it might develop in a direction you had not anticipated. What’s more, by checking in along the way you can improve strategies as you go along. Work does indeed develop and sometimes for the better - you can leverage off that and create even better strategies.
What was so great with this client is that he wasn’t angry that there was a misunderstanding - he just accepted it and we moved forward. He was very good at praising my work along the way as well. I never felt stupid for misunderstanding him and he took responsibility for his part in it. If anything he made me believe in myself as I was writing for him and I came to respect him for taking responsibility for his side of things, which in turn improved my work.
Had he turned around and said that me writing slightly off topic was entirely my fault, I had wasted his time and he was terribly disappointed, I would have gotten angry. Instead he praised my work and took responsibility for not having a work process where he ensured the work was going in the right direction. As a result I did not get angry with him for his mistake and happily delivered the book he wanted me to write.
As I’m in the process of launching my own business I’ve realized how truly important this message was to me. Not only because I have to oversee a lot of people in the future, but also because investors, clients and others expect me to deliver certain things. To deliver them though, I need to know what they are.
We all value things differently. I might be putting my focus on marketing when an investor want to see more focus on internal systems. And if there is no communication the investor won’t know why I chose to focus on marketing first, before tackling internal systems.
To understand someone’s reasoning you need to know why they reason the way they do. Without communication it leaves room for a lot of misunderstanding and unhappiness, thinking a person just isn’t delivering any work, whilst, in fact, they are.
Communication - the one way people will know what you are actually doing and if you are doing what they want you to do.
By Maria Montgomery – Maria is a freelance writer, director and social entrepreneur. She’s also the spokesperson for The Little Angels Community Center and an avid blogger. You can find her somewhere between Cape Town, London and L.A., where you will most likely find her in the hills, looking out over the city she loves. @OhMyMontgomery