One of the most challenging bits of interacting with other people professionally is the very human assumption—without even realizing it—that everyone else you’re working with can read your mind.
I know you do that because you, yes you, are human, too!
Here’s a minor sort of way this often plays out: you ask someone to do something and, lacking the context (why is she asking me this? for what? what will it be used for?) you get something completely different than what you had hoped.
But here’s a more major sort of way it plays out: other people questioning your intentions. You ask someone to do something. That’s fine, it’s his job to help you do that. But you say it in such a strong way, with such a sense of urgency, that the other people think you’re stepping on their toes, in a major way. Maybe they think they’re the owner of an initiative, but you need to really push it through. Or maybe they are the owner, but they don’t realize the urgency that you’re getting on it from all the other key stakeholders! So, you come off like an %@#^$* when really, you’re just feeling the pressure and passing it along.
The solution? Context, context, context!
Imagine the following world, a world that does exist in some companies and could exist in yours. Imagine that every time you ask someone to do something you preface it with, “First, I want to give you the context…” and then you spend about 3 sentences explaining the thinking behind the request.
This magically achieves a few aims.
One is that you always sound like less of an %@#^$* when you give context.
A second is that the other people can and will understand why you want that request, so they are much more likely to do it in a way that complies with your objectives. Context is a “necessary but not sufficient” requirement for reducing confusion among teams working on the same project.
Given these benefits, how come more people don’t provide more context to their requests?
One possible explanation is that explaining context requires time, and few want to invest the time. The good news with that is if you do invest the time, you stand out above the rest! Plus, remember the key dictum: doing one thing very well is much stronger than doing lots of things in a mediocre way. Doing your one role but providing lots of context for each request so each one is more likely to turn out better—as opposed to doing twice as much but all in a more mediocre way—is a very powerful strategy.
Another possible explanation is that most people just don’t realize the importance and power of providing context. No one teaches this to you in school. Indeed, no one teaches how to be a professional in school. Or even at the broader level, no one teaches how to be an adult in school. Perhaps that is why everyone should read this series. Or perhaps one of you, dear readers, would want to go start your “How to be a Professional” school. Just thank me somewhere!
