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Don’t manage impressions
By Lauren | January 7, 2012
Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, I want to touch on a subject that’s been bugging me of late. Recently, I’ve been called upon to deal with a group of professionals who didn’t handle a sensitive situation particularly well. Their behavior offers a lesson that smart businesspeople would be sensible to heed.
Imagine, for a moment, that you and your colleagues had, collectively, botched a professional gig. You misunderstood a situation, misdiagnosed a problem, or recommended a course of action that turned out to be ineffective or, worse, downright destructive. The problem blew up in your face, and now your professional reputation (and maybe your livelihood) is on the line.
Sadly, all too many businesspeople would respond by hunkering down and trying to manage impressions. They’d dig in on their initial analysis, insist that their original recommendations were good, and generally try to blame the outcome on the poor client, patient or other customer who came to them for help. That strategy can work for a while - impressions can be managed, and the appearance of professional success can be briefly conjured. Trouble is, even the smoothest surface can scratch, and once that happens all the ugly mistakes underneath come pouring out. At that point, the businessperson who tried to salvage a bad situation with impression management not only looks incompetent, she looks dishonest, too.
Life is frequently unpredictable and messy, and everyone - repeat everyone - makes mistakes. When you or someone in your company makes a mistake, don’t compound the error by trying to hide it beyond a managed impression. Dig below the surface and solve the problem, even if it costs you a little money or some professional embarrassment. Not only will you get a better result, you’ll also gain the respect of anyone who knows that you put substance over form. And, along the way, you might also keep your business out of court.
Topics: Apologies, Business Ethics, Personal Ethics, Professional Ethics, Risk Management, Social Ethics, business communications, corporate responsibility, customer relations, ethics |