Your organization might be the most technically competent

operation in the world. However, seemingly insignificant lapses in

professionalism can affect its reputation, and therefore that of the
people within. Here are some things to be aware of.
1: Criticizing co-workers to outsiders. At times, you might be
tempted to criticize other parts of your organization to outsiders.
But think carefully before doing so — and think about how people
may react. On one hand, they might be embarrassed to hear such
talk and wonder if your organization knows what it is doing. On
the other hand, they might be impatient, wondering why, if they
have a problem, you’re wasting time on your own complaints.
Your organization is like the human body. Just as the head can’t
say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” neither can one department
do without the other.
I once called a director of client support in an IT organization. This
director reported to the CIO, and the assistant to that CIO had
suggested earlier that I contact this director. When I did so, the
director freaked out and started criticizing the assistant, even
telling me that the assistant was in big trouble for suggesting I
contact him. (By the way, that director is no longer with that
company.)
Another time, I called executive B at one of my client companies
to introduce myself and said, “Executive A likes my work.”
Executive B replied, “Why should I care what A thinks?” Guess
what? Executive B is no longer with that organization.
If you have disagreements internally, work them out privately.
Remember, a house divided against itself cannot stand.
2: Passing the buck. When people contact your organization,
they usually do so because they need assistance. If you can help
them, wonderful. If you can’t, think about what you CAN do
instead. If nothing else, try to direct them to someone who can
help. Avoid telling a caller to contact another part of your
organization or replying to an email sender that way. It’s better in
the first case if you transfer the call and in the second case to
forward to email. That way, you keep ownership of the call or
email. Yes, it takes longer. But doing so presents a better image.
Don’t be like the person in the Washington law firm I once called
by mistake, as I sought another person in that same firm. When I
said, “I guess I have a wrong number,” that person said, “I think
so too” and then simply hung up.
3: Failing to supply material to a subordinate. Suppose
someone contacts you and sends you documents or other
material. Then, you refer that person to someone else in your
organization, perhaps a subordinate. Make sure you provide that
subordinate with those materials. Your subordinate will look
foolish if he or she doesn’t have those materials when the person
calls. If the subordinate has to ask that person for that material
rather than get it from you, it looks even worse.

4: Failing to test and verify your telephone menu options.

Inside his circus, P.T. Barnum often posted a sign labeled “To the
egress.” Attendees who followed the sign, thinking they were
about to see an animal, abruptly found themselves instead on the
street.
Fooling people, even unintentionally, will annoy and irritate them.
This principle applies to your organization’s telephone system as
well. Test it to make sure the announced options are really
available and that they do what the announcement says they do.
If the announcement says to press a certain extension to reach a
certain person, does the system really do so? Or will the caller get
the dreaded “invalid option” instead?
5: Failing to acknowledge caller by name, if known. Suppose
your assistant tells you that Joe Brown, someone you know, is on
the line. But when you pick up the phone, you don’t greet him by
name. Think how that failure sounds to the caller. Your assistant
asked for the caller’s name, or else the caller volunteered it.
When you failed to mention his name, he probably wondered why
your assistant would ask for his name, given the fact that you
didn’t use that information. In any case, greeting a person by
name gets the call off to a better start.
6: Failing to set up a personal voicemail zero out/attendant
cover option. I have heard the announcement far too many
times: After pressing 0 because my desired party is away from the
phone, the awful Audix woman says, “No operator defined.” No
matter the message or the system, the result is the same. A caller
reaches a dead end in the attempt to communicate.
I’m not saying you have to set up a “zero out” option all the time,
though I’m hard pressed to think of a reason not to. In any case,
whatever you do in this regard, be aware of what and why you’re
doing it. In particular, make sure that your zero out or covering
extension really is defined, because most systems default to
having no such coverage.
7: Overuse of cc:. The old saying tells us that legislation is like
sausage: It’s best not to witness how it’s created. Overuse of the
cc: option falls into this category. Yes, keeping customers and
clients informed about developments is important. However, it’s
possible to provide too much information, in particular by using cc:
to include outsiders in internal email sent within your organization.
Doing so could either annoy them (because they are getting too
much information) or alarm them (because rightly or wrongly, they
may believe your organization is out of control).

Instead of the cc:, consider a separate email, with only a high

level summary of the “raw” correspondence.
8: Being clueless about the location of a principal. I am not
referring to the principal of a school, but rather to the manager or
executive who is supported by an administrative assistant. If you
are that assistant, or a co-worker or someone else in the vicinity
of this principal, pay attention. Your situation differs from that of
the company receptionist at the main switchboard. Outside callers
realize that the receptionist can’t know whether a given person is
at his or her desk. Therefore, they’re okay with having their call go
into voicemail (although a good practice, even for the receptionist,
is to warn the caller of this possibility).
In your case, giving such a warning vastly increases your
professionalism. If the caller believes you’re in the same general
area as the principal, he or she might be annoyed if you imply that
the principal is available and then merely put the caller into
voicemail. In other words, you will look clueless to the caller. If
you don’t know where that principal is, then say, “I will connect
you, but if [principal] is unavailable, it will go to voicemail.”
9: Misspelling names. People treasure their names, and
misspelling it will annoy them even if they say otherwise.
Therefore, make sure you verify the spelling before using a name
in an email or document. If in doubt, ask the person. By no means
will that person be offended. Rather, that person will be pleased
that you wanted to be correct about the name. Some common
traps include:
“Mc” vs. “Mac”
“Sch” vs. “Sh”
“Anne” vs. “Ann”
“Charley” vs. “Charlie”
Names of people who come from outside the United States (In
particular, be certain about the gender of the person and be clear
between surname and given name.)
10: Web site links that only Google can find. Too many times, I
have searched in vain for a particular page or link on an
organization’s Web site. Unable to find it via the site index or
other navigation device, I instead turn to Google and instantly find
the Web address or link I was seeking. If Google can find the
page, why can’t the site index? If your Web site falls into this
category, take a good look at how it’s organized and documented,
because you will frustrate visitors.