I recently wrote about the value of full and straighforward communication (one of our core values here at Behrman House) and the importance of expressing your emotions in the workplace. This happened to me yesterday: I wrote an email to a colleague. I thought it was short and to the point. She wrote back: “Terry, I’m having a negative reaction to your email. Can we talk for a minute?” Of course. Turns out my colleague saw the email as curt and untrusting. I deeply valued the open and honest discussion. I thanked her. My take-away? 1. Be sweeter in emails. There’s a real, live person at the other end. 2. Don’t make assumptions. What I thought was succinct, she saw as abrupt. 3. Talk about it when something is bothering you in the workplace. If you don’t, it will come out in other, less healthy ways. 4. Never forget that in a truly committed team, you are all working toward the same goal. Your success is my success, and vice versa. Robin Domeniconi in The New York Times Corner Office said it this way: “Another thing that I’ve learned—and I think most of my success with my teams has been built around this—is the idea that none of us own anything. We all are here together. So even if you’re in P.R., or you work in sales or print or digital, or whatever it may be, we are all here, as a group, to work together. So you have to be able to finish each other’s sentences. You have to be in this together. We want the same outcome.” Which is why I am such a big fan of this core value at Behrman House: “We value our team, including the contributions we each make, the goodwill and kindness with which we treat colleagues and customers, and the success that effective teamwork brings.” Goodwill. Think about it.
