Handling clueless clients

In many organisations it’s not uncommon to have clients who, when it comes to briefing an internal communication will say: “Well, I don’t know what I want; oh, but I’ll know it’s what I want when I see it.”

It can sometimes leave both parties feeling a bit inadequate. But before getting into how to the hows and whys of this all-too-common scenario, it would perhaps be useful to muse on a desirable alternative.

An impostor-free alternative

What if you and your team were in a situation whereby:

You always enable clients to know what they want?before?they see it.

Surely it would be harder to feel like an impostor in those circumstances, would it not? (Of course, you may have other challenges you’ll need to deal with, but hopefully we’ll be able to address those in our follow-up articles).?

If this alternative reality looks and feels good to you, it would be useful to think about why you’re not there already? After all, surely your clients would like this alternative too, wouldn’t they? Or would they?

What’s holding you back?

It would be astonishing if it were only Impostor Syndrome that’s keeping you from this ideal future. But could it be holding you back from asking for everything you would need in order to make it happen? What if you were to ask for everything you wanted but still couldn’t deliver? Ooer.

But surely this would suggest that everything you can think to ask for might not be everything you’ll need. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s tough to know what the view will be like from the top of a mountain when you’re still standing at the bottom. Sometimes it’s only when you get to the summit that you can see there’s an even higher peak waiting to be scaled.

Fortunately, we’ve been climbing this range for nearly 30 years, so we know the easiest paths to follow, and the pitfalls to avoid. Obviously we’re talking IC rather than actual rocks, so your situation is a much more dynamic environment. But the essentials remain the same.

A route map

This is the formula we’ve put together for thinking through any and every scenario which could make you feel like an impostor.

1. Likely impact: why it’s bonkers to let this scenario continue: what’s the likely impact of the current situation
2. Likely causes:?there could be several factors, some of which may be more relevant to you than others
3. Potential solutions: what would it take to eliminate those causes??What are the practical ‘do-able’ steps you can take?
4. Business benefits: What’s in it for you – and everyone else??The personal and business benefits you, and others, are likely to realise if you take those steps.

Much of what follows may seem blindingly obvious. But, often, the only way to be sure you don't overlook the obvious is to state it.

Likely impact...

…on you:

It can be maddening, and often confidence-sapping, when clients can’t tell you what they want (but they’ll know it when they see it). After all, it will be impossible (or at least tricky) to be sure you’re doing the right thing. And, unless you get really lucky, it’ll also mean you’re going to spend longer to produce your work.

This is partly because you may waste a lot of time staring at a blank screen (and possibly chewing the back of your knuckles) while you try to work out what to do. And then there will be the almost inevitable revisions you’ll need to do if your client realises they want something quite different. So it all adds needless pressure to meet deadlines, and may result in longer days.

…on your clients:

Giving an inadequate brief is almost certainly going to cost them time. And probably confidence (in themselves and – perhaps unfairly – in you or members of your team). And if the end result ends up arriving late, or being a bit of a fudge, their reputations risk taking a hit too.

…on your organisation:

This is going to depend on how successful you and your team are at retrieving the situation each time. But any late or fudged business projects waste money and generally upset people. And when they're communication projects, then (assuming they really are needed) late delivery or unclear messages will leave employees groping in the dark, and possibly making mistakes.

That means their performance is almost bound to suffer. Of course, if a communication isn’t needed, it’ll simply be wasting their time – even if it’s crystal clear and arrives bang on schedule. All in all, then, this is pretty rubbish.

So what's going on here? How come these situations even arise? Is it your fault? Is it even your clients’ fault? Often it may be neither.

Likely causes

This is what you really need to identify if you’re going to put this particular source of your Impostor Syndrome to bed. We’ve identified four likely suspects, two of which you could think of as matters of business policy (or a lack thereof); the others being process issues:

• Policy: Sometimes people have had a responsibility dumped on them, and they're floundering
• Process: It could be that your briefing process: your template of questions – doesn’t give provide them clear enough guidance to define what they need.
• Process: Perhaps your template of questions is fine. But maybe some of your team aren’t skilful enough at using it to get the answers they need from their clients, or to sort the wheat from the chaff.
• Policy: Maybe the process is fine, and your team have all the necessary skills, but they don’t have a?mandate?to make their clients follow it every time.

In our experience, these are the most common causes, but maybe there’s something else we’ve not included. If so, you’ll need to spell it out before you consider solutions.

Potential solutions

Inevitably, these will depend on the cause(s) you need to tackle.

Policy

If the client can’t answer the necessary questions because they’re effectively in the role of a go-between, there’s evidently a flaw in business policy. You need to be dealing with the real client. And if you can’t get access to that individual, you have an issue with your team’s?mandate.

Process

If the client doesn’t have the skills to think through what they need, you’re looking at process solutions. You and your team need:

• a watertight briefing process,
• the?skills?to use that process effectively,

Crucially, though, you’ll still need to ensure you have the necessary mandate?(including having enough time) to use those?skills?and that process.

Which of these are currently missing for you? Or could there be something else you need instead of, or in addition to, these resources??If so, what is it?

Things to consider for your wish-list

If it's a?skills?issue, many folk may reach straight for the training portfolio. And training may indeed have a role to play. But it can rarely do the job on its own. You need to put this professional development into context.

So, apart from any training which you or members of your team may require, you’re also going to need:

1. Time to practise the learning. Getting used to any new way of working tends to slow us down for a bit. Even the best training is unlikely to 'stick' if people aren't allowed the time to get used to novel processes and techniques.
2. A?mandate?to use your briefing process in all relevant circumstances. (There really is no getting away from this.)

If these necessary resources are in place, professional development could then provide:

• a robust process for taking briefs from clients
• techniques for getting all the information you need from your clients, while using that process.

(If you need any help with anything on this wish-list, let us know.)

How these policy and process solutions could end this source of Impostor Syndrome

Together, they should mean:

• you and your team are being briefed only by people who are capable of knowing what they want,
• you and your people have the?skills?and?mandate?(including enough time) to take these clients by the hand and lead them through a process which enables them to know this?before?they see it.

However, getting here may involve some significant changes to existing (or even the introduction of new) processes, policies or both. That’s surely a tall order for someone who’s struggling with Impostor Syndrome. Or is it?

What if you were able to start the conversation with your key decision-makers by spelling out the business benefits they’re currently missing out on?

Business benefits…

…for you and the others involved:

1. You’d likely be saving potentially huge amounts of time for yourself, your clients, any 'approval groups' and the employees on the receiving end of your work.
2. The confidence of everyone involved gets a boost
3. Everyone experiences less frustration and stress.
4. Your work becomes more fulfilling
5. You get to go home at a reasonable hour?and?feel safe to switch off at the end of the day.
6. This contributor to Impostor Syndrome (yours and anyone else’s) is put to bed

…for your organisation

In many circumstances, there are likely to be some budget savings, not least because:

• pointless projects never get started,
• there may be fewer reworks and rush jobs…

…so your organisation saves?money.

And you’ll have removed one of the risks of employees being uninformed, which would mean they’re more able to work and feel better. So your organisation can deliver better results for the people it serves.

In conclusion

We believe this contributor to Impostor Syndrome can - and should - be brought to an end. So who within your organisation needs to understand this? And what else would they need to know?

Have you found this useful? Please share any ideas this post has prompted. That way everyone can benefit from that bigger picture. And, together, and we can all end these forever frustrations, for everyone's good.

About the author

We are Russell+Olivia Brooklands (ROB) - and we've been working in the field of Internal Communication for over 25 years.?Through our consultancy work and training programmes we've helped IC Specialists to up their game on four continents, in blue chip companies like GSK and Airbus, and major national and international bodies, including the European Central Bank and the UN. We were one of the founding Directors of the Institute of Internal Communication.?And we're leading the IC Practice Governance initiative, to help IC Teams better support line managers in becoming increasingly effective communicators.

You can find out more about our work, and how we can help you to easily make your life better, at commgame.co.uk