What do you do when the boss asks you whether a project
will be completed on-time? How about when they ask you what you think
about a particular project or idea? If you are like most people, you
might prevaricate, hem and haw, even outright lie – anything to
keep you out of hot water. It is a natural human trait, but one that
has corrosive effects on business and relationships in general. We might
think that we are protecting ourselves, or protecting the other person
from some hard truths, but instead we are only setting ourselves up
for eventual conflict and maybe even failure. If you want to have an
effective and successful high-tech career, you need to say what you
mean and mean what you say.
Say what you mean
Too often, in the effort to safe face or save a job, we don’t
say what is on our mind. You are afraid that pointing out the mythical
naked emperor or the fatal flaw will doom any career aspirations you
might have. In some companies this might be true, but if so, you really
don’t want to work there anyway. In fact, it is by pointing out
problems, issues, challenges or flaws early on that you make a leap
forward. If an entire project is based on a flawed assumption it must
be addressed early or you are sowing the seeds for project failure before
you ever get started. Wouldn’t it be better to solve the problem
while there was still time?
Instead we dance around the issue, demeaning the importance of the problem
until even we don’t believe it is a problem at all. It doesn’t
make the problem go away, though. It only postpones the inevitable crisis
until such a time that you can do nothing about it. Crash! Another project
down and out and no one seems to know why.
Starting today, you need to say what is on your mind. You need to share
your concerns. You need to offer up options. You need to move away from
little white lies and shaded truths and do what is best for you and
your career. Failed project after failed project does nothing for your
career, while speaking up and telling the raw truth that needs to be
told could help your career thrive. You don’t have to be mean
about it, but neither should you shy away. Simply offer up your thoughts
and feelings and see if others can address them in a rational fashion.
If not, trouble is looming.
Mean what you say
There is another side to this equation of honesty and openness, too.
Not only must you speak up when problems occur, you must also exhibit
the utmost responsibility to follow-through on whatever you promise
to others. If you say the project will be on-time, it had better be
on-time. If you promise to do the due diligence on a contract, you had
better do it. You must mean what you say and not simply offer up words
that others want to hear. If you can’t deliver on a commitment,
you have to renegotiate this commitment or you and every one who depends
on you is going to suffer. You owe it to everyone to let them know as
soon as possible whenever you are unable to fulfill a commitment. Don’t
leave them hanging until the last possible moment. Don’t leave
your boss or co-workers without critical information or charts in a
meeting before the executive. Don’t leave the web site design
without a critical bit of programming on launch day. If you do, you
are liable to find yourself in the unemployment line before the end
of the day. Had you only renegotiated the commitment, or found some
way to garner additional resources to help you complete it on time,
you would be a hero, not a pariah.
Honesty, in all forms, seems in short supply today. Throughout politics,
business and life the importance of honesty is diminished day by day.
We don’t even call it lying anymore. People were mistaken, misinformed,
out of the loop. They are never, ever dishonest. But calling dishonesty
by a hundred different names does not alter the central truth. Say what
you mean, without malice or hidden agendas. Mean what you say by keeping
your commitments and honoring them like the bond that they are. To do
anything less is a failure of courage, character and your career.