Of all of the sayings I have “borrowed” from my significant other, “you catch more flies with honey” is probably my favorite.
Being nice to people is not a new concept, but this was never more apparent than the other day at the office. After chasing someone for weeks to get approval on an effort to move forward with a project, the person approving the work got sick.
I did what seemed the right thing. I sent him a note wishing him a healthy recovery.
I received the scandalous, escalated approval I needed literally 15 minutes later.
What is the takeaway?
We have a tendency to get frustrated in environments where people want control or don’t do what we want for them. We tend to think myopically. In my case, I wanted this approval at all costs.
Taking a moment to talk to the person and understand their motivations on an emotional level is key. Taking two seconds to ask someone how they are doing tells the person, “I care about you as a person and I’m not the bad guy.”
I don’t mean to sound like some robot who spits out the right response to elicit a specific reaction. I just think it is important to take a step back and remember that we all have lives and someone might be going through something.