You probably can’t see it, but there are two signs in the photo above. The first is over the arch and says, “Health Department.” The second is down on the right side and says, “The Bar.” I saw this sign on a recent trip to Sydney and it totally cracked me up but then it got me thinking about all of the ways we send mixed messages.
It seems communication, or it’s often present friend, “Mis[s] Communication”, is usually at the epicenter of conflict. It starts with a careless word or a stupid statement and then, like an earthquake, moves out in waves causing people to stumble and leaving brokenness in its wake. We trip over our words at least as often as we trip over our actions. I like to think most of us want to make our “yes” a yes and our “no” a no – in other words, we want to do what we say, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
I wish I could say I was always happy with the way my company (including me) performs, but I’m not. When we fall down, the best we can do – the only thing we can do – is admit our culpability, work toward resolution and do better the next time. In fact, any time one of my team asks me, “What should I say?” in response to missing a deadline or dropping a ball I always say, “Tell the truth. Admit where you went wrong, reinforce your goal to do better if given the chance and then work toward a positive outcome.” Okay – it’s not always that eloquent – or that calm – but that’s always the message.
Not all of life’s moments end up in the “success” column, so it’s important to keep a humble eye on the stuff that populates your “failure” column. If you gloss over them and make excuses you run the risk of believing your own P.R. That’s like believing you’re only guilty if convicted and I, for one, don’t buy it. Neither will your patients, customers, friends or family.