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Dominating Derek
Welcome to the 12th pen-portrait in our series about different types of internal clients.
The person
Most people will come across a typical ‘Dominating Derek’ at some time in their business life. Derek is usually a senior person who has a lot of clout – and he isn’t afraid to use it! However, sometimes its seems as if he uses his power just for the sake of it.
For instance, he may tend to give ridiculous deadlines for some items. Perhaps he will ask you to deliver some results on Christmas Eve, even though he doesn't need (and probably couldn’t even use them) until the New Year. Derek is often totally unreasonable but because he has a certain amount of authority, he expects everyone to accede to his demands. He will think nothing of suddenly changing a deadline and bringing it forward.
The problem
Unfortunately, Derek’s domineering approach matched with his unpredictability can cause chaos for you and your team. It undermines morale and makes staff very unhappy. Ultimately, it can also upset your company’s relationship with its agencies.
The solution
Derek is able to be dominating because of his senior position. This makes him very difficult to deal with – at times you will need all the skills of an experienced diplomat!
Firstly, you need to establish your own credibility. You have to make sure that everything you deliver to him is of excellent quality, and is always on time. Once you have that credibility, it will be much easier for you to negotiate with him. You can then choose the best way to approach him:
- Try for a postponement - You could ask him, “Do you really need X by a certain date?” He may have been hedging his bets, and doesn’t really need it until a week later. Because he knows your track record, he’ll also know that you’ll deliver it by the time that you promise. As a result, he’s more likely to relax the rules a little.
- Summary first - You can negotiate on the basis that you can’t do full justice to the project by that date. Try and persuade him that the most effective solution might be to produce a summary by the deadline he has set and to deliver the rest later.
- Get him to choose - Finally, you could negotiate by saying, “Yes, we can complete it by your deadline. However, if we do so, it will mean that another project can't be delivered on time, otherwise we won’t be able to focus properly on the first project. So are you happy if we delay the second project?”
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