Reflections

“What you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.”

• By fannieb
• June 14, 2015
• No Comments

Have you ever discounted someone or their opinion because of a past experience you had with him? I have. And sometimes I’m not even doing it consciously. An email comes across my computer saying the attached document might be helpful with some of the work I am doing. As I am reading the message l glance down to the originating email for context and notice that it is from James, an out of touch executive, who doesn’t believe in paying attention to important details. Last year he signed me and my team up to work with a vendor whose work processes are in direct conflict with ours. James failed to vet this vendor properly and as a result my team is left with cleaning up the mess and feeling worse for the wear.

And what happens to this potentially helpful attachment? It doesn’t get opened (at least not today) and later it might get lost in my inbox as new emails bury it below the fold. Or, I might consciously write it off as merely noise. I know, I know, that’s bad. The attachment could actually make my life easier…..maybe. But the fact that James has left me and my team with such a mess, it’s doubtful I’ll ever find out.

What a powerful example of why maintaining credibility is so important and if you muck it up why it’s crucial to figure out how to make amends and show that you are worthy. Personally it’s hard enough for me to get my voice heard even with the level of respect I’ve developed over the last 18 months, I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would be to move my projects forward with a brand of credibility that is in the toilet.

Photo Credit: Steve Baker