What Do You Expect from ME?

Once we’ve worked to ensure we’re very clear about exactly what it is that we provide for our customers, our clients, the team members we lead, or even our family, we’d each do well to invest some additional time into making sure we understand just what it is they’re really hoping to receive through their interaction with us. 

Gosh Wes, why would I need to do that if I’ve already put so much into clarifying what I can offer in each of those situations? Shouldn’t that be enough?

I remember hearing a story about a couple who were going through marriage counseling. The wife was upset because her husband wasn’t communicating with her. The husband was upset because he just couldn’t figure out how to please his wife. As the counselor asked the wife a series of probing questions to really dig into what her husband wasn’t communicating with her about, she finally said “he hasn’t even told me that he loves me since the day we were married.” As the counselor addressed this issue with the husband, he replied “I told her I loved her then. If anything changes, I’ll let her know…”

OK, corny story… But it should serve as a good example about how important it can be to make sure we’re on the same page with each person we interact with regarding what they’re really expecting from us in the situation!

So how on earth can we do that?

Well, sometimes we just need to ask! When providing basically the same product or service to two different clients, it’s quite possible that they have very different reasons for considering what we offer. The results they need to achieve through that transaction can be worlds apart! The members of our team will each have unique needs that serve as their motivation to perform. Making sure we’re even meeting the expectations they have of us truly hinges on having a clear understanding of those unique needs - and there’s little hope of exceeding their expectations when we don’t have that understanding! When it comes to our family, our spouse will likely have a far different need from our time with them than any of our children, who will each be looking for something a bit different as well…

In many cases, it may be as simple as asking in advance “What do you need most from me right now?” rather than assuming we have all the answers and barreling forward with what we know to be best for everyone around us… But at times, there will certainly be more to consider. Before we move onto another topic, we’ll take a look at how we can have a much better shot of aligning our intent with the perception of each individual we’re interacting with by applying The Platinum Rule. Before we get there though, I’ll share one thing I learned from a mentor recently that we should each keep in mind as we work to serve the amazing people around us. Be on the lookout for that next time!