Growing up, I cannot tell you how many times I was told by my parents and teachers that patience is a virtue. I still struggle with patience, but I work hard at it every day. As someone with a check-off list that guides his day, it is not easy to remain patient. However, when it comes to spending money, especially money at work, I am very careful to make sure that the money is spent well on items that will best affect student outcomes in a positive manner.
At a recent vendor presentation, the presenter was fielding questions from my purchasing review committee. The committee’s job was to select the product and thus the vendor that would best suit the needs of the district. The presenter was kind enough to allow the committee members to ask questions during his presentation. Not every presenter allows this, many ask the committee to hold their questions to the end. His patience impressed me.
However, as the presentation continued, I noticed that the presenter was not answering the teachers’ questions. Clearly, the presenter had an agenda and he was losing patience with the committee members. His good deed of allowing the teachers to ask questions led to a group of professionals who were frustrated because their questions were not answered. The presenter, instead of listening to the complete question, started to answer the questions before the members of the committee had a chance to finish the questions. In fact, he was answering the questions as he wanted them asked and he was directing the conversation to the items that he wanted to talk about.
I could tell that my committee was getting frustrated and they did not know what to do. They did not want to be rude, like the presenter, and kept trying to ask their question. I decided to step up and ask the questions that the committee members were trying to get answers to. When he tried to interrupt me, I politely told him that I needed to finish the question so that everyone in the room would understand the issue that we wanted to be addressed. You could see the frustration on his face, but I was steadfast and would not stop until the question was answered. I had a series of back up questions ready in case he did not answer my original question. I was not going to let him proceed with his presentation until he first answered my team’s questions. It was their time that he was wasting and I do not put up with that.
I was not rude, I did not start a fight, the presenter answered my questions in their entirety and my team got the information that they were looking for. I do not appreciate when anyone has their time wasted. If you want to pass the interview as a presenter, listen to the full question and answer it. If you want to pass the interview as the boss, stand up for your team. Do this in a polite manner at first. If you can change the presenter’s behavior and get the question answered, you pass the interview. If the presenter does not respond to your polite redirection, let him know that he is not addressing the question and that we require the answer before we will move forward. If the presenter does not answer your questions, feel free to assemble your team and leave the meeting. Remember who has the power. Up until this point, the presenter thought that he had the power. In the end, as the buyer, I wanted to make sure that everyone in the room knew that my team had the power. If they were not going to get the power, I was going to get it for them. Noone wastes my team’s time.
As for the interview, the presenter failed the interview. The goal of the presentation is to answer my committee’s questions so that they will consider your products. My team knows not to make a recommendation until they have all of the information that they desire. My team passed the interview for their patience with the presenter. They did not get rude with the presenter as this would have prevented them from getting any of the information that they needed. I need to provide them with the techniques needed to make sure that they get what they want from the presenter. Finally, I stood up for my team in a polite manner and I stopped someone from stealing their time away from them. Every day is an interview.
Everyday is an Interview 