Is it the Devil or is it Opportunity that lies in the detail?

I love health.

I love sport.

I want to be rich.

All very relatable I like to think.

What about I am open to travel and I want flexibility from my employer.  Sure no worries.  Then six months later you can’t get to the activities that are most important to you and you are spending too many nights in hotels.  How is that possible when two people agreed on flexibility and travel.

That opportunity lies in the detail.

When a person says travel what do they mean?  To an office, in and out of the CBD, throughout the suburbs and or some regional travel as long as they sleep in their own bed each night?  Are they open to one or two nights away from home be that regional or interstate travel. Is that OK every week, monthly or once a quarter?  What about being away for a week at a time or even 3-6 months.  I could go on.  Travel requirements and desires vary enormously from person to person and employer to employer.

Travel can be a blocker or a connector to important people and or activities in your life.  One trip a year to America for two weeks to build relationships or study and I am all in.  Work paying for me to get to America and allowing me to tack some time on to go visit family – sensational.  Weekly or fortnightly travel preventing me from school pick up, playing basketball and going to see the Hawks play – no thank you.

What is the combination that works for you? 

What does flexibility mean?  Some time working from home? Some late starts and or early finishes?  Actually it is not about either unless I get to choose when I need or want to.  The detail allows you to ask for your needs to be met and an employer the opportunity to understand and meet your needs.

Most people are willing to accept that they won’t love all aspects of their role and take them on for the greater good of the team or company.  Again detail can be a great opportunity.  What do you actually mean by admin? Debt collection? Bookkeeping?  What are the specific tasks and actions this includes and how much time will be dedicated to these activities?  When you flush out the details it is amazing what can be reallocated and or redesigned.  Having asked for the details an individual tends to be even more accepting of the less desirable elements of their role.

So where do these details come from?

Self-reflection and planning.

What has worked for you?  What has not worked for you?  What would have worked with a slight tweak?

What responsibilities do you hold?  How much time and when and where do you need to be to meet those responsibilities?

You are the expert on you and you have the answers.

If this is new to you it will be tempting to avoid the work above or do the work and dismiss your answers until they have been validated by someone else.  I encourage you to trust you.

Based on what has worked for you and what you need to do to meet your current responsibilities you will have all-sorts of details.  Curiosity and playfulness are also wonderful partners as you search for more detail.

A situation that on paper ticks all the boxes and leaves you cold, an unfulfilled project and or frustrating relationship can all be unlocked with detail.

What an opportunity.

Being really clear on what you are or aren’t willing to do and how sure makes it easier to make commitments you want to and will keep.  It also introduces plenty of room for gratitude towards your employer.

So what umbrella terms are you using, what vague expectations are you creating, what questions aren’t you answering?  At this level the Devil is in the detail and will have a sting in its tail.