When as a manager you make a request of someone and that person accepts, he takes on the responsibility to produce some product, report or service. As the person making the request, you also have a responsibility. As a requester, your implied promise is: I will support you in fulfilling your commitment to me and will not undermine your attempts to deliver. Support includes resources such as people, technology, money, and needed information. In addition, your implied promise typically includes collaboration and the coordination of actions necessary to help the performer.

Let’s look at some examples.

The Unseeing CEO
Steve, a customer service manager in a 5 year old start-up, complained that while the CEO expected service agreements and documentation to accompany the release of the hardware the company produced, the engineering department refused to keep Steve’s department updated as to the nature and dates of each new release. Steve found himself attempting to provide documents based on previous releases and making guesses about the features of a new release based on rumor. [Read more…]