Communication Is A Two-Way Street
Have you ever had someone point a finger at you and declare “It’s all your fault!”? Or maybe you were the one pointing the finger.
It always takes me back a step, or two. As a service provider, pleasing people is important to me, and over the 30+ years of working with clients, I have learned that when something is not working it is typically an issue with two sides to it.
When it comes to communication and expectations it seems we can never have enough clear communication.
All relationships are a two-way street.
There is the speaker and the listener, the giver and the receiver, the provider and the client. And in each one of those relationships, it takes two to participate in order for the relationship to be successful.
Now we are all human and we are all going to make mistakes. The most important part of a mistake is first taking personal responsibility for your part in the mistake and second looking for the place of learning.
Look for the places where things can be done differently so the issue does not happen again.
Sometimes a mistake is just a mistake and needs to be corrected.
Sometimes a better system needs to be put in place to diminish the mistake from happening in the first place.
Sometimes a skill needs to be learned at a deeper level in order to have the rationale for thinking all the way through an issue.
Whatever the issue is there is always a solution.
And when we are more committed to a solution than pointing a finger we are not afraid to look at our part in the issue. This is a personal integrity value.
So on behalf of all service providers, before you want to point a finger, I ask you to think about how you can improve your part of the relationship. Then how can you communicate that so a solution is created.
I’ll guarantee you that a deeper more meaningful relationship will come from it.
In Abundance,
