Invention, Intention, and a Little Introspection

Invention. Possibly the crux of civilization, the single most important thing that has allowed us to progress as a society, moving us from hunters and gatherers to sales associates who can pick up a burger on our way home instead of foraging in the forest and hoping we don’t get eaten by a bear.

Now replace the word “invention” with “intention” and re-read the paragraph. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute.

Does the paragraph still work? I think so, considering that without understanding the intentions of others, we never would have been able to trade, create companies, or go to the moon.

So which word did I mean? What was my intention?

While our words and actions are important, they can be interpreted differently by different people. Therefore, it’s imperative that we communicate with our prospects and coworkers in a manner that ensures our intent is properly perceived. This is particularly true in sales where we are already seeking to overcome tired stereotypes.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

Friedrich Nietzsche, the famous 19th-Century German philosopher, is best known for challenging society’s understanding of morality. In his book, Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, he discusses how to look at actions, intentions, and beyond (the beyond section!). To take his hooptie-dooptie-big-words-meta-ideas-philosophy-hoopla and make it simple—he posits that there are three ways to look at communication.

The first is to view words/actions alone.

When we interact with our coworkers, it is easy to judge them based on our own understandings and experiences. If being sent a “K” in a Slack channel is rude to me, then anyone who sends that must be rude. It’s the idea that we are the key factor in the scenario, and that everyone must cater to us.

Just because I have an aversion to being texted, “K,” does not mean everyone does. It would be egotistical to assume everyone within my company shares my preferred texting abbreviations. If my coworker Mike asks for a report, and I tell him it’ll be done by the end of the day, and he shoots me a “K,” to look at the action alone is wrong, and to Nietzsche makes you a barbarian of sorts.

If I take the “K” only as a “K,” I discount all the reasons Mike may be using it. Perhaps Mike wants me to know that the deadline is good, without wasting my time. Thanks, Mike!

BUT WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?

If we are not going to judge our coworkers on their words and actions alone, then what should we judge them on? I NEED TO JUDGE THEM ON SOMETHING! What else is there to complain about when we go home and talk to our partners, friends, or cats? (So, just stop judging the cat people.)

It’s not that actions are unimportant, but rather that there is more to judge than the action (Yay, judgement!).

Nietzsche’s second way to look at communication is through intention.

High performing sales professionals are always aiming to improve. In many jobs you’re expected to hone your skills, but sales is arguably more cutthroat and requires an ability to grow in ways other professions don’t require at the same rate. When I think of internal communications between sales professionals, I think about something we mentioned last week—coaching, mentoring, and helping.

When was the last time someone in your organization gave you feedback? Did you focus on the words they said, or did you try to think about the intent behind them? In an industry where poor sales often lead to termination, having coworkers and mentors willing to identify your weak points to help you is essential. It’s also a job where working on your intention and understanding of others is vital.

Take the “K” example one more time. If I receive a “K” from Mike, knowing his style and knowing his intentions, I can take his action, view the intention, and move on with my day. I know the personalities of those I work with, so I can judge the intent of Mike’s “K.” Does this mean the same “K” from someone else could be judged differently?

According to Nietzsche, two actions that are the same are not necessarily equal. If, for example, my other coworker, Rachel, was to shoot me a “K,” I would not simply continue about my day. I would grab a paper bag, hyperventilate, and call my mom.

Rachel does not “K.” Rachel is bubbly, kind, and in her own words, “an over-apologizer,” and thus takes the extra time to make sure you know anything you did was appreciated. If she gave me a “K,” I would assume it meant she never wanted to speak to me again. And for this reason, when looking at the intent of others, it’s critical to look at our own intent as well. Why are we sending an email this way? How will it be interpreted by the recipient? When we focus on our own intentions in the workplace, it becomes a better space. But sometimes, we need to go beyond our intentions.

BUT I DIDN’T MEAN IT THAT WAY

There is one more layer of communication that is vital to ensure a happy work environment. We have all had times when our intentions don’t match our actions, at least not in the way they are perceived, and to mitigate this, we must be ever so aware of what we are trying to achieve. Example time!

Perhaps this rings a bell. You mention to a more senior coworker that you started work on a new project. Your coworker tells you that sounds “bomb-diggity.” A few days later, you are on a full-team call with your sales leader, who asks, “Is anyone working on that new project I delegated?” In her excitement, your more senior co-worker speaks first and says, “We are!” The sales leader nods and no more is said on the topic. Your co-worker’s intention was to express her excitement over your recent conversation and wanted you to know how excited she is about the project, and that she remembers you’re working on it. You, on the other hand, understood her, “We are!” to mean that she is now handling the project. Thus, to avoid duplication of effort, you move on to other endeavors and do not work on it anymore.

Three weeks go by, and your sales leader asks for a status update on the project. You defer to your more senior co-worker, who is confused. “Why would I have it,” she wonders. “Wasn’t that your project? I was so excited to see it!”

And alas, we have an issue of intent versus actions versus perceptions, where our actions do not always display to others our intentions. There are times internally where our intentions don’t align, and it’s obvious, or times when we simply are on different pages about the outcome, i.e., internal miscommunication.

SO WHAT?

So, what do you do? You consider everything—actions, intentions, and perceptions. You follow the three steps to intention in order to mitigate risk (Mitigate risk! Control what you can control!), whether that is being on different pages accidentally, or even insulting someone without intending to do so.

Step 1. Know your intent beforehand. What is your intention before an internal communication? Do you want to share information, give directions, or show support? Or perhaps a combination, or something else entirely. Who is the audience, what is the medium, and what is the best way to efficiently accomplish that goal in this setting? For example, if you are hosting a meeting and want to be fast, without being curt, how can you control your attitude to show kindness, while allowing your process to be quick?

Step 2. Be intentional in the moment. During communication, keep your intention in mind. The senior-coworker-takes-credit-for-your-work example was fake, sorry, we writers can be liars at times (spoiler alert, the three little pigs are fake), but if it was real, if, during the communication, your coworker had kept her intention of support in mind, she would have said, “Adam is, it’s going to be killer! And he’s so funny and what a great name, too!” (Thanks, fake coworker), and thus the intent would have held, and cut confusion, rather than pure excitement creating confusion.

Step 3. Reflect on the intention. Did you effectively communicate your intent, such that it was perceived as intended? Take a second after communications internally, even quick Slacks or emails, and think, did that do what I wanted, how I wanted? Remember the recipient. Have you clearly communicated what they need to do or take away from your message? If you think so, wonderful! If not, this is a good time to follow up and clarify. When we work with the same people internally day after day, when you are feeling out people’s intentions, it’s better to overdo it early on. Even if that’s an extra email your first week asking, “Is this clear?” or “Just wanted to make sure that came across okay?” Odds are people will appreciate it. So, at the end of the day, the thing to keep in mind is intention. To consider your intention, the intention of others, and act on it…with intention! We will not be perfect. There will be moments when we are unclear, and things get muddled. There may even be times when we come across as crass or rude inadvertently. But if we start, communicate, and reflect with intention, the frequency of miscommunication will be far fewer. And remember, when others make mistakes, try to keep in mind their intentions and give them a bit of slack (or educate if it’s severe) when you can. It makes all of our workdays a little better!

Our intention is to provide you with the training and coaching needed for your organization to sell more, faster. Contact us at mastery@maestrogroup.co.