Dear Monsters, today we embark on a captivating journey that reveals the secret behind the success of good leaders: underpromising and overdelivering. Get ready to be inspired as we delve into a thought-provoking story that showcases the transformative power of this approach. In a world where trust and credibility are paramount, this mindset will propel you to new heights as a New Age leader. Let’s dive in and unlock the potential within!

As you probably know, the Good Boss was running a tight ship. It was the second week of his absence, and many of the senior executives started knocking on the door, asking us analysts to get involved in new projects and take over tasks from the back office. Especially the head of sales. He was one of those so-called alpha males that likes to manipulate others into agreeing with him. I had fallen into his trap in the past, and I didn’t want this to happen again. Previously, the Good Boss could get me out of it, but not then and not from his hospital bed. I had no choice but to simulate his advice in my head.

I closed my eyes, while sitting at my desk. By then I had done this several times searching for a mental image of the Good Boss, so I was hoping my teammates wouldn’t think that I had lost it. At the snap of the fingers, my mind took me months back, in the Good Boss’s office. I was summarizing the outcome of one of the project meetings I attended on his behalf.

“The head of sales. He wants us to run this process for him,” I said, looking at the Good Boss, startled.
“ What exactly?” asked the Good Boss in his usual calm tone, leaning into the leather armchair.
“They want us to do all the manual controls for the online banking clients” I replied. “ Which is absolutely unrealistic.” I rolled my eyes.
The Good Boss smiled. “Did you tell him that?”
“No,” I hesitated, “of course, I didn’t. You know that he can get pushy. I told him I would need to speak to you first.”
“And did you by any chance say yes to him?”
“No,” I paused and felt a little insecure, “I definitely said yes to considering it.”
“Oh.” The Good Boss looked surprised. “That is interesting. Because the head of sales just called and said you agreed to what he asked for.”
“That must be a misunderstanding!” I cried, while suppressing the little green monster who was raging in my head. “I didn’t want to be rude and reject him so directly.”
The Good Boss smiled again. I didn’t expect him to take this lightly.
“Aha, so you rejected him indirectly! So indirectly he didn’t even realize.” He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know that he isn’t easy to handle. He likes to pressure others. So if you want to make your work-life easier, you must learn to say no. Never to overpromise. Because you might underdeliver.”

Does this happen to you, dear Monsters?

Do you have the tendency to agree to something you cannot do? I know this can be especially hard to resist, especially if you are working in a client-facing role. Salespeople have a bad reputation for being aggressive because they tend to overpromise on what their product or service can do, just to close the sale.

When I became the SVP of sales, I got involved in the rare cases when clients were expressing dissatisfaction with our services. One of the most common reasons for these conflicts was the tendency of the salesperson to agree to everything, even to things that could not be achieved, in order to bring it home.

According to Zig Ziglar’s bestseller Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale, “In the sales world we find insecure salesmen with poor self-images are the ones most guilty of over-selling, over-promising and underdelivering.” This is why it is extremely important to learn how to manage expectations early in your career. A large part of that expectation management is saying no.

This is another invaluable lesson the Good Boss has taught me. By following his example, I refrained from overselling something I couldn’t deliver—even during his absence. I learned to be perfectly comfortable with pushing back on initiatives coming from management and voicing concerns about the additional work that they’d create.

Think about it, dear Monsters. Are you effectively communicating expectations and limitations to your stakeholders? It can be a huge challenge to do it at the beginning of your career, when it seems like everybody knows everything better than you and nodding yes seems like the only way out of an uncomfortable situation.

At my monster leader workshops we frequently see there is a mismatch between the self-perception and reality. Some participants believe that they are managing expectations well, while their managers and teams don’t share the same opinion. Remember, you are responsible for doing this right. Your integrity is on the line. If the others don’t understand you, it is probably because you haven’t communicated it clearly enough.

Dear Monsters, the tale of the Good Boss reminds us of the power of underpromising and overdelivering in building trust and credibility. By setting realistic expectations and exceeding them consistently, you can establish yourself as a reliable and respected leader in the New Age. Embrace the art of saying no when necessary, manage expectations effectively, and communicate with clarity. Let the lessons from the Good Boss guide you on your path to success. Unleash your potential and become a New Age leader who not only talks the talk but walks the walk. The future awaits you, and it’s time to shine!