Sensitising yourself to relationships

By Linda Julian

If you're a professional who isn't already scoring 100% in managing relationships with clients, it's worth taking some deliberate steps to improve.

One target area is sensitising yourself to how your work impacts your client  -  or considering the ripple effects you may create in your client's pond. 

Next time you have:

• a significant development to report
• project to recommend
• change to lead.

first work through this checklist  -  a tool to sensitise you to how what you are about to do may affect the relationship.

• How will my client receive this ?
• How will it affect him/her ?
• How will it change his/her status within the organisation ?  And outside ?
• How is everyone else going to feel about him/her after this ?
• How will it affect the wider organisation ?
• Will folk feel comfortable about this development or change ?
• What will it do to their power, status, and image ?
• When my client has had an opportunity to reflect, how will s/he feel about this ?
• Will they like and respect me more or less of me after this ?

This same checklist will work for internal relationships, too.
 
Commit to doing this a few times "by the book".  If it turns up some useful insights or reveals issues you may not otherwise have considered, it will become self-reinforcing.

You'll soon be on your way to more awareness and sensitivity to relationship implications of the professional advice you offer and expertise you dispense.