For Greater Success, Get Good Promises

We are all familiar with promises at work.  When our boss gives us an assignment, and we accept it, we have made a promise.  When a co-worker asks for help with a problem and we say yes, we have made a promise.  When we tell people we will meet them for lunch, we have made a promise.

We are all familiar with promises at work.  When our boss gives us an assignment, and we accept it, we have made a promise.  When a co-worker asks for help with a problem and we say yes, we have made a promise.  When we tell people we will meet them for lunch, we have made a promise.

We say “Yes” a lot. And there are many good reasons for doing that. But all those “Yeses” add up to more work than we realize. If you are like most people, you have more to do than you have time to do it. 

Usually we are sincere when we say “Yes”, we will do something.  At the time we say it, we mean to do it - even if we don’t see exactly how to make it happen.  But then things come up and we don’t get it done.

Our own promises are overwhelming us.  They are also overwhelming other people.

Breaking the Cycle

None of us works completely independently.  We all depend on other people for things.  And when they don’t deliver, it costs us success. And therein lies the problem. 

Our promises, and the promises of others, are not 100% reliable. We all miscalculate how long it will take to do things, or fail to account for interruptions and unexpected problems. We depend on each other, but not everything gets done, and the result is a vicious cycle of uncertainty, lack of control, and the annoyance of having to micro-manage.

How to break the cycle? If you are willing to spend a few extra minutes to get a good promise, you will improve the likelihood of getting what you need from others. 

Getting Good Promises

Getting a good promise requires having what is called a performance conversation.  When you have a performance conversation with me, you are interested in whether I will do what you are asking me to do.  Since people have a tendency to say “yes” without thinking things through, we need a way to increase the chances they really do what we are asking.  This can be accomplished by your asking me the following questions:

1. “Are you clear about what I am asking you to do?”  What you want to know is whether I know what result you want me to produce, or what task you want me to perform. Do I understand what you want done, how you want it done, any special requirements, etc.?  You do not want to accept a simple, “Yeah, no problem” when you are asking for something you really care about.

2. “Do you have everything you need to get this done, or, if not, do you know where and how to get what you need?”  You want to know that I have given this enough thought to recognize what is required to complete the task or produce the result. 

3. “Is there anything that could keep you from completing this task and/or producing this result?”  This question reminds people to look at the bigger picture of their calendar and other commitments.

4. “Are you available to do this work?”  Other people are busy too. Whatever you are asking, even if you are their boss, is one more thing on the pile.  To satisfy your request, they are likely to leave someone else’s request unfinished.  Find out if they are available – but do it after you have asked the other questions. That way they can see what they are saying “Yes” to.

5. “Do you accept my request?”  This is the closing question: you ask them if they are saying “Yes” to your request.  This is to let them know that you take their promise seriously. You can also let them know something about why it matters to you, that they should let you know if they encounter any barriers that threaten keeping their word, and that you are available to provide what assistance you can.

Making the Effort Matters

As you can see, it takes a little effort to get a good promise, but the payoff is great.  In today’s economy, getting things done efficiently is at a premium.  One way to do that is through good promises, promises that are good for your performance, your reputation, and your career.

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Labels: communication practices  leadership  managing and supervising  success factors