'I Believed Them,' Some Mistakes Can't Happen, a Pointed Comment to Media and Making a Negative Impression
A Reputation Intelligence column of four important points briefly made
There may be times in our professional relationships where something strongly feels “off” or “wrong.” We discern something from someone’s communication, lack of it, some piece of “evidence” or rumors that are circulating.
We might ask about it and have it communicated to us that everything is going to be alright. Going against our gut maybe, we extend trust to those people.
“I believed them, but they didn't tell me the truth.”
We knew we should have trusted our gut.
Our instinct isn’t always accurate — and we can overreact and badly misjudge a situation and people — yet if often is for most of us, especially if the poor experiences or trauma we’ve had have been powerful enough to teach us to recognize clear signs.
We often are — and can be — protected by our perceptions and gut instinct, although it is helpful to test those assumptions.
Yes, sometimes people with whom we communicated with may have truly been optimistic that all would improve and be well yet it’s also true that being victimized by someone’s willful deception is part of the human experience.
Next topic…
Sobering, Maybe, Yet True
“We need to make sure we understand that in life, mistakes happen. But there are also certain moments where mistakes can't happen.”
Some mistakes gain understanding if we respond well. Others will be tolerated. Others still are not going to be received favorably because the strong thinking will be, as Whitman pointed out, that they “can’t happen.”
The more we come to learn, know and remember which ones those are, the better our relationships and reputation.
Next topic…
That’s Rude and Dismissive!
"I'm not going to give this nonsense further oxygen... "
That was sharp edged! There are times when a line of questioning is way off base and there other times, when people being questioned just want the scrutiny to go away. With the quote above, made from an organizational leader to the media, who knows what facts of the matter were in what he knew and the reporter sought to learn.
That statement he made was for his superiors and employees more than public consumption.
Was it smart?
It’s rough and honestly, over the top, even if it clearly gets the point across.
If the leader is being factual and truthful, and has built sufficient trust to earn the benefit of the doubt, that communication could dispel false, preconceived notions or curiosity that is off course. If trust isn’t there, it could result in people digging deeper and more passionately to discover if you are hiding something. So, be careful.
This approach — talking down to people — doesn’t do much positively for respect, trust and relationship health.
Agree, Disagree or…
"Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title,” said George Washington.
Having a title honored is made easier when people feel they can trust and respect the person with that prestigious title. Some in positions of status, authority and power though tend to forget it, expecting their title to “cover all sins.”
We know it doesn’t work that way.
It’s the actions — which reveal the thinking and character — outcomes and impact that get mostly noticed and determine how much respect and honor we receive.
People, as Washington pointed out, expect more from a person than their status, title and the authority and power that come with it.
Positive influence, from strength of character and consistently noble actions, makes for trust, buy-in and greater ease of persuasion.
Thank you to Marc (Dewey) Boberg and his Substack for Washington’s quote.
And finally…
What Negative Impression are You Giving Off?
The airline industry is a tough “business.” That’s worthy of knowing.
Yet what it recently communicated fell short of being very bright when you considered public perception, i.e. optics, for customers.
“Major U.S. airlines on Tuesday asked the U.S. Transportation Department to abandon a review launched by the Biden administration over whether carriers should be required to pay passengers compensation over flight disruptions,” reported David Shepardson at Reuters.
“Airlines for America — a trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others — urged the Trump administration to end the review to take comments on whether airlines in the United States should provide cash to compensate for carrier-caused disruptions, like they are required to do in the European Union and Canada.
"Airlines do not need further incentive to provide quality service," the group wrote, arguing that USDOT lacks legal authority and that the requirement would drastically boost airlines' costs and hike ticket prices.
The International Air Transport Association representing airlines worldwide separately criticized the idea saying required compensation programs "have become wealth transfer tools that have cost airlines billions of dollars without any meaningful reduction in flight disruptions."
Spirit Airlines said the idea is so extreme "it might encourage carriers to re-evaluate when they proceed with flights that should have been further delayed or canceled when potential safety related concerns exist."
USDOT in December sought comment on whether airlines should be required to pay $200-$300 for domestic delays of at least three hours, $375-$525 for six-hour delays, and $750-$775 for nine-hour delays.
The airlines’ complaints and push back, objectively speaking, are fiscally reasonable in relationship to the bottom line of the business, industry and shareholders.
To many customers however, this looks like a clear statement to them that the airlines, as an industry and its CEOs, that the status quo is working well enough for passengers and “you’re not entitled, you’ll be fine, so grin and bear it” regarding the problems the airlines create for them.
The point? What impression are you giving off to one of your key stakeholders and secondly, is that the specific impression you want them to have front and center in their minds? Digging deeper, what various trust, relationship and reputation risks and financial costs, could this potentially lead to that would cause you unexpected pain?
This newsletter — Reputation Intelligence — is written by Michael Toebe, and is a product of Reputation Intelligence - Reputation Quality, a firm which helps individuals and organizations assure a greater peace of mind, provide stress relief through reliable decision analysis, consulting, advisory and communications.
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