 Should
You Crack the Tough Nuts?
Years
ago I used to focus on the worst members of the audience.
The ones who crossed their arms and legs, never smiled,
hardly said a word or took a single note throughout
the day. I felt the need to ‘win them over’
to prove my ability as a speaker and a trainer.
I’ve learned something over the years: Some people
do not want to be won over – and that’s
OK.
Now I focus on the audience members who do respond
with smiling, nodding, taking notes, asking questions
and laughing along with my stories. This gives me a
lot more energy when I work, and also makes those participants
feel appreciated.
And guess what? By the end of my presentations, most
of the tough nuts have cracked themselves. Even tough
nuts sometimes want to join the party – but they
don’t want someone else to do the cracking.
This can be equally true with members of your staff
or service team. Some people inside your organization
can be real tough nuts, sticks-in-the-mud, fuddy duddies,
old-timers, or even new-timers who don’t want
to support a change, improvement or new program.
What should you do? Should you work extra hard to win
them over? I suggest otherwise.
Instead of focusing on the few who don’t want
to support new ideas, focus on those who are enthusiastic,
helpful, optimistic about change and generally inclined
to make new things work.
Think about it: Every
ounce of energy you put into the enthusiastic members
of your team comes back to you in support, ideas, action,
initiative and positive effort. Every ounce of energy
you put into the ‘tough nuts’ gets you what?
A worn-out nutcracker.
Here’s one example: A prestigious hospital asked
me to help improve the morale among the nurses in the
operating theaters. There were 86 nurses on the team,
but senior managers were most concerned with four long-serving
staff who had become negative and reluctant.
I studied the situation carefully and recommended they
ignore those unwilling or uninterested in change. Instead,
we focused every ounce of effort on working with those
nurses who wanted to work toward a better culture.
Within months, three of the tough nuts loosened up and
started contributing good ideas. They were welcomed
with appreciation for their wisdom and the quality of
their contributions.
The other tough nut never cracked; she left the hospital
and went to work elsewhere. Funny thing, within a few
months, no one missed her.
Key Learning
Point
In
life, with staff, customers and everyone else on this
planet, some will be keen and helpful and eager to see
you win – and others will not. Be careful where
you focus.
Action Steps
Identify which of
your staff are most constructive and helpful in bringing
new plans to light. Tell them how much you appreciate
their efforts and support. You will find you get even
more. Don’t ignore the tough nuts, just don’t
give them any more attention than they require. In time
they will join the successful crowd, or they will leave.
In which case, let them go.
Next Article in Customer Service Mindset >>
Responsibility + Sensitivity = Cooperative Authority
First Article in Customer Service Partners >>
Helping Others Succeed is Good Service
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
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