This is a personal perspective on a very tricky topic, sparked by a great post on linkedin by Dr Travis Bradberry recently about things which get you fired......
" underdelivering versus promises made" is one topic covered in his article , but it is such a major topic and the cause of many a painful journey , that it merits a sizeable space of its own.
What you read next may not be you or the place you work , but I know this kind of stuff still happens on both client and agency side...and it unfolds like a slow motion car crash ,leaving a trail of human and business debris. Reading this piece to the end may therefore help you sense if something is not right before it all turns ugly.....
The delivery versus promise issue is a recurring life challenge ,not just in our working lives ,because it covers communication both explicit and implicit, relationships , and the balance of power ; what is said vs what is inferred but not said ; what is actually understood , what is agreed happily or under pressure ; negotiation vs imposition, process , and a kind of alternate reality with double speak and double standards enshrined in an opaque, coded language ......
Most of us have at some point been obliged to call on others for something of a leap of faith ,to trust our ability to step up into new responsibilities we have little or an imperfect experience and expertise in, bullshit our way through the selection process and the subsequent newly hired in post learning curve. "Fake it till you make it " is just one new phrase I have learned on Linkedin....
The bad news is in getting that job you just "agreed" to the unrealistic top down targets the Board / your Boss are imposing on you.....which they hopefully also deep down know are totally unrealistic, but are obliged to accept themselves in order to protect their own position in the food chain...
The sad truth is that unfortunately people are sometimes mistakenly hired or go for roles or corporate cultures they turn out to be simply unsuited for, never mind about whether promised ressources have been provided or cut. Sometimes this situation can be compounded if the "underperforming " party can't or won't accept there is an unfixable problem..even if it is entirely a fiction of the employer's making...either way it spells trouble, and it takes guts and a good personal internal warning system to recognize the problem early and tackle it head on.
This conflict situation can lead to all kinds of bad consequences, from seemingly constant or personal criticism , to dysfunctional and demotivated teams , to losing the brightest team members , or sky high personal stress levels which can and do often leave nasty physical and psychological scarring , even before the end game , the sudden reorganisation and assisted rapid exit for "underdelivery versus expectation....."
To be clear ,this blog is neither in any way an apology for underperformance, which must always be addressed transparently honestly and promptly....nor does it seek to ignore the fact that we are all free to walk away if we don't like what is being asked of us, which as a concept works better in some countries, cultures and situations than others of course....
It is rather a call for greater integrity and transparency in how we set up and communicate goals and expectations be they numeric , competency or judgement (yes, .. subjective ..nightmare) based , the spoken as well as the unspoken; and how we deal with the fallout when things don't work out in a way that maintains everyone's dignity.
As to the Brandbuilding angle , if we aren't personally aligned with the work culture we find ourselves in then both parties brands will be harmed.
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