Are you working With or For you clients?

Do we always work with or for people who have some form of (toxic) power over us?

Our clients can stop working with us without any reasoning, our manager can fire us “just because”, we can be criticized, forced to do something, our self-esteem can be violated.

All of this can create an unfavorable environment.

During one of my catch ups yesterday I discussed with a consultant how she has been working for almost a year with colleagues with whom she disagrees on a number of areas that are crucial for her, but still continues to engage in this fight every day.

Another case was with a business owner who keeps on doing the same thing every quarter, initially starting to work with clients with whom he was unable to agree on comfortable conditions upfront, and then spends a ridiculous amount of time on endless explanations of why it is necessary to do specific tasks and processes; whilst the clients keep asking “well, what else can you do for us for this money, you charged a lot after all.”

Other people gain power over us because we give them this power.

Sometimes we allow others to act destructively over us simply by not questioning their rights.

Ask yourself: how do you portray the people with whom you work? And who is your client?

I periodically do such check ups on my business reality, especially when a lot of “red” pop up in my energy audit? - it's time to talk honestly with myself.

I highlight 3 questions about “my client” (red flags are examples when something started to go wrong, this is not a final list, but such indicators show me that i need to refocus)

1. Do we match in values?

Red flags

• I do not know the client's values
• I see that the values are nominal, they are not observed
• We match in all but one - this always leads to negative consequences.

2. What tasks does the client set for me? Can I solve them? Am I interested in them at all?

Red flags

• interesting tasks, but I can't solve them:)
• uninteresting tasks, but I am able to solve them, and there is a lot of money - for me this is always a road to nowhere
• the ratio of "time spent - available tools - finances" is asymmetrical

3. Will I bring value / do I continue to bring value to the client?

Red flags

• We do something together, but we don't go anywhere
• Regular meetings have disappeared
• There is a lot of frustration on my part / on the part of the client, and there are no conversation about that yet

Do you make such check ups with yourself and your business reality?