It’s probably too obvious to state out loud, but clients can be maddening. Actually, let’s be real, they can really piss us off. I have to fess up and say that I wasn’t beyond trashing a client with colleagues or at least with my wife and often my dog. It took me longer than it should have to realize this was counterproductive on so many levels.
First, it made me a victim. My locus of control was positioned outside of myself. Poor pitiful put-upon me. Well, where do you go from there except to drift into apathy or a state of passive aggression. Not too productive. This attitude surely didn’t further my career or afford me the opportunity to be happy at work.
It also set up an adversarial relationship with said clients – not much room for collaboration there. And don’t think that clients can’t read the cues when you’re angry. They see it and will likely respond in kind. You reap what you sow.
Finally, this behavior sabotages any chance of you positioning yourself or your team as strategic partners in your organization.
I realized that I needed to reframe my relationship with these types of clients. I employed some BOD (Benefit Of the Doubt). It was very likely these clients were as overworked and stressed out as I was with challenging workloads and expectations. They also may not have had a true understanding of what was involved in executing on their projects and requests. Finally, for those clients who were constantly trying to tell me how to do my job – well maybe they were just trying to help.
I found as I readjusted my attitude towards my clients, they often reciprocated. For the ones who don’t though, make sure to respectfully challenge them on their behaviors. No one, regardless of the hierarchy, has the right to disrespect you.
There are still times I secretly fantasize about pulling out a voodoo doll and applying a few well-placed pins. I’m only human and it’s important to acknowledge the anger. The trick is to do that appropriately and more importantly, consistently look for ways to make our clients true partners in our efforts to support our organizations.
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