CII2007. How to Say Anything to Anyone: Setting Expectations for Powerful Working Relationships

You have a request for one of your co-workers but don’t know how to say it, so you don’t say anything. A project you worked on for six months has become a black hole. There is no information about the status. You’re frustrated, but you don’t say anything. Two employees aren’t working well together. It’s impacting the atmosphere on the team. You don’t know what to say, so you don’t say anything. Speaking up when we are frustrated is hard and, as a result, most of us don’t. Instead, either we tell other people (aka gossip) or we say nothing, and relationships become strained. You can say anything to anyone and have it be easy. You just need to lay the ground work to do so, and most of us don’t.

Learning Objectives:

• Tell others what you need, making it more likely that your needs are met.
• Find out what the people you work with need from you, so you don’t have to guess.
• Build trust in all of your business relationships, making it easier to say hard things.