In the course of a professional career, there are a certain set
of expectations from individuals or parties that you interact with. Whether at the
office, with customers, or meeting vendors, we expect they work with you in a way you would want
to work with them.
However ideal this is, it is not reality. The reality is
there are situations with individuals or parties that are unprofessional. They
tend to be poor in following up, not clear in communications, or, in some
cases, just screaming like a child. Whatever the core motivation around this
behavior, fear, lack of ability to understand, or poor attention to details, it is
a behavior that was learned and, probably engrained, since childhood to “get
their way”. The ethical dilemma is how do you deal with those who do not speak
the same professional language that you do, but instead are bullies?
When having to deal with these situations, it’s good to step
back, evaluate and determine if you want to be a part of it or not. There are
certain situations that you do not have this option and there are certain
situations that you do.
The times you do not have to deal with are situations are if
you are dependent on an employee, customer/vendor for your business or require
some level of funding to continue. If this is the case, it’s a risk assessment
to continue or not until the status quo has changed. For the status quo to
change, that change has to come from you – switch vendors, change customer or
customer’s agent, or find alternative forms of funding, replace employees.
However, it has to be in a way that risk is managed.
In other situations, you do not have to deal with this. You
can try to fix it or work with the party, but if it is not getting better, you
have a few options:
- Ignore the person. No contact is sometimes the best way to get them to stop communicating.
- Continue to calmly and clearly set your boundaries. It is not unfair to say statements such as “Your email is unprofessional and unless it becomes more professional, I have a right to not respond.” Or “Your communications is unprofessional and not acceptable.”
- Quit/walk away/remove yourself. Although there may be a tendency to feel a certain sense of failure if you quit, there may be situations where this is the only option you have to get away from certain negative behaviors or time-wasting situations. Walking away should not be considered a sign of failure on yourself, but the party you are dealing with. Finally, it sends an unsaid signal of strength to others.
The world of business is not just marketing, finance, tech,
product, or sales. These are categories created by humans, but business existed
before these categories existed. The world of business is dealing with
different types of people that have different priorities, values, approaches,
and options. Your best option is to use your knowledge and instinct to act upon
those you interact with. Finally, learn as much as you can about the situations
you are dealing with. Knowledge is power.
