Managers increase impact by framing requests as organisational requirements, not personal preferences. State what the organisation needs, give one to three concrete reasons why, then make a specific time-focused request and pause. This approach builds authority and clarity better than person-to-person language.
Chapters
As a manager, there are certain situations where you should speak on behalf of your organisation and then also situations where you should speak on behalf of yourself or the team. For example, it's very easy if there's a difficult conversation to be had to say, "Well, what you need to do is..." or "What you need to stop doing is this..." or "What I'd like from you is..." or "What I need you to do is this..." or not doing, of course. But there's also— this can lead to, as well as demonstrating a very person-to-person, uh, discussion, it can also weaken your communication by just having it between you as one person and your colleague as another person, whoever they may be, at whatever level. But there is a time to strengthen your communication by speaking on behalf of your organization. And what this is, the language you use is, what the business requires from you is, and then tell them. If it's a charity, of course, or organization that's not a business, you just change that appropriately. But you say, what the business requires from you is, and then tell them what's required, why it's required, and then invite them to actually deliver it. Of course, if they're turning up late for work and you've got to make sure there's nothing going on at home that could adversely impact their ability to arrive at work on time. But say what the business requires of you is to arrive scheduled to start work at 9 o'clock as you are contracted to do by the business. That is very different to saying, 'What I need you to do is arrive for 9 o'clock if you can and, you know, get ready and get on with your day.' It's very weak, this person-to-person approach. Say what the organisation requires and go from there. So, what the business requires from you is to meet a specific quality and productivity target that's reasonable and achievable. Now, there may be support you provide for that to happen, of course, but say what the business requires from you, what the organisation requires from you. You can even say what the organisation is trusting you to deliver is this minimum required standard at this minimum required quality level. So remember, separate yourself from the organisation of which you are representative. It sounds a bit official, but it really strengthens your impact. Use this at Crucial Conversations. It works wonderfully well. The next step is to provide a reason. The business requires you to arrive on time for 9 AM to start your shift at 9:05 because that's what you are contracted to do and what you actually agreed to do. The brain wants reasons. You know, you could even start, uh, the other way around. Because your Productivity and quality standards aren't achieving, currently achieving the minimum required by the organisation. It's worthwhile you and I having a discussion about that on how to improve them. So you can even switch this round, but bear in mind what the business requires of you, from you, and then because specific reasons. Then if you just say, will you do that? 'in future will you do that?' The future can feel a long way away, can't it? So we've got to be really specific and time-focused. So if your request is 'with immediate effect,' again, that sounds too official and perhaps a little bit too wishy-washy. 'With immediate effect?' No, we're not talking down at anyone or patronizing them. Say, 'So from today, please will you do that?' Whatever you're requesting, if it's arriving on time, to start their workday, or meeting a minimum required standard for quality and productivity, whatever the situation may be. It's about being time-focused in terms of the action required next, the natural next step. So, step 1, what the business requires of you, from you, is— then be really specific. Then next is the reasons with Because what is the specific reason, main reason, or what are the 2 or 3 reasons that it's reasonable to expect this to happen and it's not currently happening? And then, from today, from now, please will you do that? And then go quiet and wait for the response. So there is a time to speak person to person if you're doing a crucial conversation, and look at those videos in this programme if you're doing a crucial conversation. It's important that You mention the organisation's requirement, the organisation's reasonable expectation, and then enable and equip and encourage this person to actually deliver on what's reasonably required. If there is input required from you, of course, that's part of day-to-day management and responsibilities. Provide it, but don't do people's thinking for them. Okay? Speak on behalf of your organisation, see how it works for you, and then if you want to share some thoughts, share some thoughts with us.
