Page 128 - Make Work Great

Growing Your Crystal

Proselytizing in this manner would be uncomfortable for you and
detrimental to your new relationship.
By contrast, think of the broadcasting options you have to effect
change within the context of relationships in which mutual benefi t is
already on the table:

• You can explain to an employee that his overtness about
resources enables you to support him more effectively: “If you can
provide me with a list of the specifi c help you need, I can work with
the management team to get it for you.”
• You can seek clarity with your mentor about your need for
agreement, which reduces the pressure on her to provide you with the
“right” answer: “I value your insight and your opinion. If you would
share what you would do in my situation, I’d like to incorporate your
experience into my thinking. I realize the fi nal decision of what to do
is mine alone, and I’m not asking you to make it for me.”
• You can demonstrate the power of overtness about progress by
sharing your visibility system with a peer, which increases his con-
fi dence in your ability to deliver and seeds the thought of visibility
systems for himself: “Just so you know, I use a task tracking system to
keep up with my work in progress, including the pieces I owe you. My
system keeps me on schedule and ensures that nothing falls through
the cracks. If you’re interested and it would put your mind at ease, I’d
be happy to spend a few minutes showing you my system.”

Many other scenarios exist, depending on which part of being overt
or seeking clarity you’re modeling and your relationship with the
other person. Anything you can do to show your candidate that
you’re making his or her life easier through the application of your
new workplace behaviors will go a long way toward enrolling that
person in your crystal.
Again, you need not—and should not—envision yourself as a
salesperson. We often suspect that salespeople have agendas that run
counter to ours, and we tend to approach them with skepticism. But
when we discover a useful new product or service on our own, our

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