“It’s so frustrating!”
“What is?”
“They keep changing their mind!”
In a corporate setting “they” refers to one of two things: customers or leadership.
This time it’s the latter.
“Isn’t that normal?”
“It is, but still…”
Tense muscles.
Shallow breaths.
Eyebrows inching closer together.
All the signs of a frustrated colleague.
“So what will you do?”
“Get the extra data and revise the presentation as they requested.”
“Not this time. Next time.”
“Next time?”
“Yeah”
…
“This will happen again.”
“Yeah?”
“Then what can you do so you don’t experience this again?”
“I don’t know. Every time I do exactly as they ask, send it for them to check and receive different instructions…basically having to redo everything.
And the worst is when they change their mind again later and I have to revert back to what I had originally sent. It’s as if they don’t plan anything!”
“That’s your constant.”
“My constant?”
“You know that their initial instructions won’t be their final instructions. Knowing that, you can adjust your plan and actions accordingly.”
“How?”
“It sounds to me like they can’t or don’t communicate their needs well. Perhaps they don’t even understand them at the time. But if you know that, you can plan for that. You just have to understand their needs better than they do.
What will they use your presentation for?
Why does it need to be done?
Understand the meaning behind the requested work and you’ll improve your performance AND your happiness. Do it well enough and you’ll also make everyone’s life around you easier.
At least, you wouldn’t feel this way again.”
“What do I do when they change their mind again?”
“You know that’s going to happen. So, you communicate what you think their needs are. It’s a back-and-forth. The more you do it, the more feedback you receive, the more you learn and the more you can improve yourself.”
“…”
“You can’t control others. You only control yourself. Which includes your interactions with others.
We receive feedback all the time. Verbal, non-verbal, silence. We’re just not paying attention to it, most of the time.
Change yourself, change your circumstances.
Improve yourself, improve your circumstances.”
“How come I never thought of that?”
“You’re just like the rest of us.”