As mentioned in my last post, I work in a culture that breathes polite. But what I didn’t say is that there are loyalties that run so deep where I work, it’s hard to build trust.
If you’ve been following my blog, there are two human truths to Agent M:
1. Issues: She has insecurities every day, and they can fill as much as 1/3 of her brain on average. Oh, and she’s opinionated.
2. Talents: She is also highly functional, professional, confident, and probably too strong at times (especially for a woman!)
But there really is one area where I have unwavering confidence. I know people. I can read them. I operate with a lot of empathy. I can sniff out politics via facial expressions and body language.
I know how to make clients trust me (not necessarily my co-workers yet but it’s my goal).
A client called me to tell me what wasn’t working with our products. This wouldn’t be too unusual in my role except that I am not that involved with this client. My direct report is handling the account and I’m the escalation point. So I’m working through the solution and then wondering if I did the right thing (get involved as opposed to immediately hand the request over to my peer directors). So I did both. I took the call, listened, and then shared insights with my peers and key team members. Now I’m sitting back (except for giving direct team and staff support, as I would normally do).
The thing is, I believe I know the solution even after this quick fix in order to maintain a long term relationship. I know exactly what to do. Not really a problem, except for the fact that I am not supposed to be that involved, and I’m frankly not sure how much (or little) that means when I’m the one called – and trusted. And I wonder if my boss will really listen to reason for long term ROI, or to his confidante at work who doesn’t like me playing client contact…
What would you do in this situation? Step aside, right?
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