The phone rings, you look at the caller ID and it is a client or service provider that you are working with. You need to have a difficult conversation with them that you have put off for several days and let the call go to voice mail instead of confronting the issue. A text arrives shortly after. You don't look at your phone for awhile but you finally do and they texted you a message as well. You go home for the day and can't get the difficult situation from your mind.
Several more days go by and it happens again. Now you are really embarrassed by the way that you have handled the situation and further avoid it. After more time elapses you are in a heated discussion as the other party knows exactly what you have been doing as there is no excuse for lack of professional communications. A situation that may have been not nearly as unpleasant is leading to a fractured relationship because you avoided the conversation. Can you fix it? Probably not, but, if you find yourself in that situation don't get defensive. Confess, apologize and learn. Most importantly, don't repeat the mistake in the future.
Avoidance and omission only leads to pain and damage to your reputation.
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