Making The World Work
by Denise Hedges
I had a call today with a prospective client who declined my coaching services.
It was a great call.
Sure, I was a little disappointed she wasn't going to hire me, but what made it a great call was simply that it happened! She had told me she'd get back to me in several weeks and she did. She did what she said she'd do. We're complete. Nothing's left hanging. She closed the loop.
She demonstrated integrity. She was her word. Not only that, but she was in integrity ... whole and complete with her decision and her interaction with me. She's ready to move on with a clean slate. No leftover baggage or nagging unresolved stuff rattling around in her brain or cluttering up her to do list.
Would she have been a bad person had she not called me? Would she have done something really "wrong?" No, of course not. That's not the point.
Those are value judgments and get in the way of what's really important here.
The world works when people honor their commitments. It doesn't work when they don't.
In this small, seemingly insignificant instance, she made the world work better for both of us. I knew where we stood and was able to plan accordingly. She maintained her integrity.
Contrast that with the experience of a friend of mine. She met a professional service provider recently and ended the conversation with, "I could really use you." The man never followed up with her after giving the impression that he would. Maybe he was busy or had more business than he could handle or doesn't think they're a good match ... or there's some other explanation. But the world stopped working smoothly in this case. Things were left hanging. He was, and still is, out of integrity.
At another level, the wellness professional that doesn't take care of herself is out of integrity. So is the coach who doesn't want to spend the money to hire a coach herself, but expects people to spend the money to hire her. And any kind of service professional that doesn't follow up with people who have expressed interest and indicated they need help is way out of integrity.
A service professional is there to SERVE. You don't serve people when you don't get back to them. And yet, I see it happening all the time and it mystifies me.
Are we all guilty of being out of integrity to some extent in one area or another? Of course. Nobody's perfect, but some do a better job than others in keeping their word and resolving matters. These folks tend to be a lot more successful ... and happier ... as a result.
The message here is simple. Be true to your word ... and your service mission as a professional. Do the things you need to do to make yourself whole and complete.
And when you're out of integrity, fix it. Do what you have to do to make things right. Apologize. Make a new commitment and then keep it.
So, how are you doing? Where are you out of integrity? What's hanging out there that's incomplete? What issues are unresolved and which commitments are unmet? Make a list and start addressing these things.
Can this actually make a difference in your business? You bet it can!
It earns you respect and appreciation. It earns you loyalty. It makes you more effective and more professional. It keeps you forward-focused, because your mind is unburdened. It creates good karma.
As a practitioner or business owner of any kind, you simply can't afford not to be in integrity.
And here's the good news. Once you clean up these things that are hanging out there in limbo, you might just find that those people who aren't returning your calls or closing the loop with you start magically doing so. It's funny how that works. What comes around goes around. Like is attracted to like.
Just imagine what the world would be like if everybody did what they said they'd do and everyone did what they needed to do to stay in integrity.
The world would work a whole lot better.
Best wishes,
Denise
