I
am on my way to work, full of energy. Today I’m taking the car but when I start
to drive I feel that something is wrong… Oh great, a flat tire. I have to ride
my bike instead and a lot of time has passed. I’m in a hurry and when I changed
my car key for the bike I accidently left my USB at home.
Today
we are meeting a very important client so I can’t be late, if they buy our
product, they will sell it all over the country. I’m supposed to meet my
colleague Maria at 7.45, the meeting starts at 8:00. I’m there in time, but no
Maria. I try to call her but she doesn’t answer. The time is passing by fast,
and it’s getting closer to 8, still no Maria.
I’m
really stressed right now because Maria has the PowerPoint, and since I forgot
my USB I need her copy. I’m starting to get upset, it’s not the first time she
is late. I’m starting to think of what Maria did in this project, because I’m
the one who planned everything, and I even did the Powerpoint.
Now
our client comes and what should I say? I have prepared coffee and tea for them
so I’m starting with that. I’ve also ordered some sandwiches, but they have not
been delivered. Great.
…
After the Meeting:
When
Maria finally shows up with her latte, her hair styled and she doesn’t even
look stressed I couldn’t hold it in. I’m starting to yell at her
-
How stupid are you? Don’t you have a brain? I’m so sick of you being late all the
time. It feels like you don’t even care. We might have lost this client now
thanks to you.
- I
emailed you everything last night and said that I couldn’t come.
-
Yeah right, that’s just something you made up. I did not get an email.
Later
I find her email in the junk mail, I feel a little bit dumb, but at the same
time, what could have been more important than our big client? However, it wasn’t
her fault that I had a flat tire, or that I forgot my USB, or that the
sandwiches didn’t come. Almost everything was my own fault
I
walk over to her office to talk to her, but she says she doesn’t have time. I
explain that I want to apologize for how I acted, and that a lot of things went
wrong this morning. But that I’m still a little bit disappointed because she
didn’t come. She says that we can just forget that this happened, but I can see
that she is not very happy. I walk back to my room.
What went
wrong? Because I feel that this conflict isn’t solved, though she said that we
could forget about it.
I guess the problem would be that many things went wrong and that you were really stressed to begin with.
SvaraRaderaNonetheless, I think that what could have been done better is that you could have kept your cool and try to figure out what went wrong first before scolding her. Perhaps there wasn't any time to explain what went wrong.
I think that what you did was right, and that you went to try to apologize for your actions, but it could have prevented. Perhaps there could be more open communication in this sense, to prevent such conflicts from happening in the first place.
It's true, it is stressful, but you have to understand from the other person's point of view. Try to ask her what went wrong first before putting things into action. That could be a way to prevent arguments.
All being said, the right thing done is that you did apologize, and you perhaps you could also write a card to make up for it. This way, she could really feel your sincerity. She might think that you are trying to patch up just because you have to work on the next project again. So this might be a good alternative.
-Raphael