One of the most frequent debates that comes up in our workshops and coaching is this: “Sometimes I am not asking for anything, so there is no persuasion. Sometimes, it IS just an update.“
And The Latimer Group’s standard reply to that question is this: “We politely, but emphatically, disagree.“
Sometimes our ask is tangible and specific: approval, resource requests, perhaps a purchase of some kind.
And, yes, sometimes there is no tangible ask. But even when there is no tangible ask, there is always, always, always an intangible ask of some kind. Even when you are simply giving a status report to colleagues, even in those moments where it is tempting to feel like it is “just an update,” you are always asking for credibility and trust. In that status update, you are trying and hoping to build trust and credibility with your colleagues or clients… trying and hoping to help them conclude that you are doing a good job, on top of the project, and deserve independence and autonomy. Because if they do NOT conclude those things, then prepare to be micro-managed… prepare to not get the next assignment… prepare to passed over for the next opportunity.
Trust me on this… because I cannot say this any more emphatically. Building trust and credibility is a never-ending quest in the workplace. Someone famous once said the following: “Credibility… when you have it, nothing else matters. When you don’t have it, nothing else matters.”
So in your next presentation, you may be asking for something specific and tangible. Or you may not. But you are always asking for trust and credibility. Don’t forget to build that into your message planning.
Have a great day.
Does your team:
– Take too long to make decision?
– Fail to ask for what it wants or needs from you?
– Make things too complicated?
– Deliver unconvincing or disorganized presentations?
– Have new hires who are unprepared to communicate in the workplace?
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Dean: Beware! I read your notes, and fortunately for y’all I withhold comment. Credibility is something you have within one’s self and with and amongst your own employees. It’s a moral force, and once within one’s self and the company, projection is like a wave that happens by itself, and will permeate by itself. No need to advertise. Derick Nicholas
Great stuff as always!