How do you rate your ability to professionally translate what your team delivers to clients?
In my consulting, mentoring and speaking collaborations, I ask professionals like you to define what their desired outcome looks like from our mutual experience. Often, I hear phrases like: “ I want you to take my business to the next level,” or “I want you to help me fast-track my career.” Equally often, these professionals tell me that they want to be able to “bring greater value to clients” and “be able to assume a leadership position in three years or less.”
Now, each of these outcomes is impressive. However, reread these phrases and tell me what these words actually mean. For starters, these phrases are generically specific. First, we have all heard these phrases voiced around the hallways and zoom ways of our professional lives. These phrases are business lingo, professional buzz, and quite frankly, sound like a self-advertising campaign.
However, each of these phrases lacks soul. Plus, each of these phrases lacks purpose and context. These word groups pretty much exemplify what and how professionals are supposed to respond when asked questions about outcomes. However, hollow and overused phrases like these have no meaning and relevance and value without professional translation.
So, let’s try this question once again. How successfully are you able to professionally translate what you and your team deliver to clients?
Consider that the “what you deliver to clients” addresses the desired outcome clients wish to experience when working with you. The majority of the time, this desired outcome is an unasked question of you, by clients. Equally often, this desired outcome remains unanswered by you and your team.
After all, if you and your team do not anticipate the types of questions clients want answered, you sell yourselves short. Then, if you cannot professionally translate your answers into the language and mindset of client decision makers, then how can you deliver the relevant value they seek?
My advice? This week, evaluate whether your professional language is heavy on buzz words and lingo, rather than the straight-forward professional translation clients seek. And if you find yourself lacking in your professional translation skill set, contact me here. Let’s focus on creating memorable and enduring client-focused outcomes, together.
Meet people where they are. Get to where you really need to go. Together. | One Millimeter Mindset | Professional Innovation | Cross Functional Leadership | Speaker, Consultant, Mentor |
How do you become more professionally visible, cross-functionally relevant, and strategically valuable to people who solve problems differently than you do? Babette Ten Haken’s One Millimeter Mindset ™ speaking, consulting, and mentoring programs catalyze people to collaborate more innovatively by moving one purpose-driven one millimeter beyond the mindset holding you back from moving forward. Create and implement more strategically agile, enduring, and rewarding outcomes. Babette’s 3 Core Questions, 4 Change Agreements, and 5 Professional Whys catalyze everyone to ask the questions that get everyone to where they really need to go, together. Babette is a business-oriented STEM professional, qualitative Voice of the Customer facilitator, PMI-certified Wicked (Complex) Problem Solver, Duke Corporate Education licensed Strategic Agility practitioner, and Six Sigma Green Belt (Quality). She is a member of SHRM, PMI, and the National Speakers Association (NSA). All programs delivered virtually and/or in-person. Her playbook of cross-functional collaboration, Do YOU Mean Business? is available in digital format on Amazon.com.
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