Before wishing happy holidays to everybody, I would like to share a last thought.
What’s the right way to interact with the people who – more or less frequently – are involved in our work life (whether clients, suppliers or collaborators)?
I’m asking this question because some surrounding conditions (for example extremely lengthy delivery times and reduced production margins) transformed the work sphere in a very hectic context, not always easy to handle. Moreover, it often occurs to come across unpleasant individuals who, in the most extreme situations, may even compromise historic collaborations.
During these years, I identified various levels and forms of attitude, verifying that some of them are definitely counterproductive and detrimental.
Let’s talk about clients, for example. Some are very collaborative, thus making everybody’s work simple and serene. And then there are clients who ‘keep to themselves’ and prefer to listen before talking and when they talk, they are however polite and kind. And finally, there are overbearing clients who say “since I pay, the suppliers must do as I say, according to the times, methods, conditions and costs that I establish. Even if it’s not convenient for them”.
And it is indeed the last category of people to whom I’m referring when I talk about “ruined historic collaborations”: such attitudes cannot certainly bring anything good, however we often come across individuals of this kind.
Why? They are the victims of impolite and overbearing superiors and therefore they end up acting the same with the people they deal with as direct consequence?
Or perhaps who has a negative opinion about this way to interact is wrong because, in reality, this type of behaviours is effective and allows the individuals who assume them to obtain what they want?
I have some doubts in this respect. I’m giving you an example.
If I manage a company or a department, I wouldn’t be able to work at a price that I believe to be too low just because the person in front of me has raised his voice: my company would suffer economically from the consequences.
In addition, if I decide to do so anyhow, just to give you an absurd example, what would the ‘impolite individual’ think? In my opinion, he would certainly raise questions on the actual value of the products he’s buying and my honesty. In other words: if I decide to work at a much lower cost compared to the one proposed at first without having any return, this means that I was most likely charging my client excessively at first, offering him a much higher price than the actual value. Don’t you think so?
Moral…
In general, when covering a role, we tend to transfer part of our personality in what we do, and this may be acceptable. Provided the limit is not exceeded. Especially in the case of all those positions that, even more than others, require a certain type of relational attitudes.
