Why the people you pay want to hear what they did well and how it helped you succeed
“The deepest principle of Human Nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
When I worked in a large law firm, I often felt as though I was giving legal advice in a vacuum. I would send it off and rarely hear what the client did next. I only understood why that left me unsatisfied when the firm sent me on secondment to the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The atmosphere was exciting. There was merchandise, stand up meetings, and on Friday afternoons Karak, the giant cockatoo mascot, walked through the office handing out ice creams. More importantly, I knew what we were all working towards and how my advice fitted in. At the opening ceremony, as I watched the fireworks cascade around the rim of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rooftop, my heart soared, because I knew the small part I had played in making it happen.
That experience led me to change the direction of my career, and I spent many years as in-house legal counsel in organisations where I could see first hand the difference my work made.
Now that I run my own business and work for a range of clients, I am remembering how much I still want to hear what I did well and how it helped my client achieve their outcome. I suspect the service providers you pay to help you feel the same way, and that many leaders forget to tell them.
A good publisher treats the people he pays as a team
Recently, my husband launched his third novel. As both writer and publisher, he brings together a team: graphic designer, a typesetter and several editors for each book. He pays each of them to do a job, and he also treats them as one team, sharing what he is trying to achieve and why the book has something important to say.
At the end of this project, he wrote to each of them individually, explaining how their particular skills and efforts had contributed to the finished book. He also gave each of them a bonus above their agreed fee, as a way of recognising their contribution.
That small gesture, serves his reputation as someone good to work for and motivates those he uses in his projects to do their very best.
A proud day with my husband, Yannick Thoraval, at the recent launch of his new novel, 'White Foam'
People care about what happens to their work
When I talk to leaders about good contract management, I describe two layers in every contract. The first is what the provider is expected to deliver. The second is the judgement, initiative and care they bring to the work, such as spotting an opportunity to improve an outcome or proactively sharing an idea that is beyond their remit. People are more likely to bring their best judgement and initiative when they understand what you are trying to achieve and feel that you value their contribution.
Adam Grant and his colleagues found that university fundraisers who spent just five minutes meeting a student who had benefited from a scholarship subsequently raised substantially more money. In a more recent field study and experiment, Zheng Zhu and colleagues found that when customers thanked employees for their service, those employees identified more strongly with their work and put in more effort.
When your external providers have a sense of the part they played in the result, they learn what you value, and they can use that to improve their service next time. It also makes you someone others want to work with again.
How to get the best from the people you pay
Here is what I try to do myself as a client of a service provider:
Share the bigger picture from the beginning. Help providers understand what you are trying to achieve and why it matters.
Get to know them a little as people. In my experience, providers who know you tend to take a greater interest in your work.
Tell them what they did well and what it achieved. When you've seen the results, tell them which parts of their work you valued and what difference it made to your outcome, and be specific.
Ask what you could do differently. Find out how you could help them do their best work.
Most projects change along the way. When you invest in relationships, build trust and share information openly, you and your providers are more likely to cultivate Adaptive Stability. They are better placed to stay focused on the goal, adapt when circumstances change and learn from what happens along the way.
The gift of gratitude
And when the work is finished, take a moment to tell people what they did well and what it achieved. You might be surprised by how much it means to those who helped you get there.
Which service providers have helped you succeed this year, and have you told them what they did well and what difference it made?
