[Question] Why do requests sometimes look like 'dumping the work'?

Introduction

This time, I noticed something because of a slight misalignment that emerged between sections regarding attracting customers for a certain piece of content, so I am leaving it here as a question.

Why do we drift apart even when we should be facing the same direction?

There was a period when some attractive content had started, but it was struggling to attract customers.

So,

"Let's coordinate with each section to drive more customer traffic."

That became the direction.

Looking only at the goal, it is very simple.
Make the content known, guide interested customers to it, and have them use it.

To that end,

"Please do this"
"It would be helpful if you could do this"

I asked other sections.

From the perspective of the person making the request, I think they were just conveying what was necessary in a straightforward manner.

However, it was a bit different for those receiving the request.

"Why do we have to be the ones to do this?"
"Isn't there something else that could be done?"
"It feels like this is being dumped on us."

Such frustrations were emerging.

Even though we should be facing the same direction of "wanting to increase customer traffic," why does such a misalignment occur?

What lies behind "Please do this"

Thinking about it this time, one thing that caught my attention was,

the fact that the background behind the request was not visible to the other party

.

On the side of the person making the request,

・It's hard to attract customers
・I want more people to know about the content
・I want to increase touchpoints with customers on-site

there is a background like this.

That is precisely why,

"I want you to reach out"

is what I think led to the request.

However, for those who don't know that process, what they receive is,

"Please reach out"

only the final part. Then, the other party interprets the gap in those words in their own way.

"Maybe they want us to do it because they can't attract customers themselves"
"What are we supposed to do?"
"Won't this just increase our burden?"

Even if the words conveyed are the same, if the premise is not shared,I think it can be received as having a completely different meaning.of that.

"Requests" and "consultations" seem similar but are different

What I thought about a little here is,

the difference between "making a request" and "consulting."

A request is,

"I want you to do this"

an act of handing over something that you have decided on to some extent to the other party.

On the other hand, a consultation is,

"I have this kind of issue, how can we think about it together?"

and it still leaves room for discussion.

Of course, I don't think you need to consult on everything.
There are times when it is faster to just make a decision and make a request.

However, especially for things that involve multiple sections,

"We will handle this much ourselves,"
"We feel there is an issue in this area,"
"For these reasons, we would like to ask you to handle this part,"

just having that kind of background might change how it is received.

Are speaking and conveying the same thing?

What I remembered from this incident is Edgar H. Schein's Humble Inquiry.

The publisher's introduction says,

"The key to human relationships is 'inquiring' rather than 'speaking'."

It says.

When we convey something to someone, we tend to think about,

"What to say."

We think about that.

But communication does not end the moment you put your words out there.

How did the other person receive it?
What questions do they have?
Are there circumstances we are not seeing?

It may be that communication only truly happens when it includes asking those questions.

Is collaboration just handing off work?

In this case as well,

"Please reach out more"

instead of ending with,

"We will take these measures,"
"We will organize this part ourselves so as not to overbook,"
"With that in mind, could we ask you to handle this part?"

If we had shared that much, the way it was received might have been a little different.

I don't feel like this is just a matter of explaining things in more detail.

What is important is,

whose problem are we treating this as?

that might be it.

Is it, 'This is our problem, so we are asking you to handle it'?

Or.

Is it, 'This is a problem that concerns everyone, so let's bring what we can to the table'?

Or.

Even with the same request, the meaning seems to change significantly depending on this premise.

Trust cannot be built only at the moment of making a request

Another thing I felt was the importance of our everyday relationship.

When each section works in a different location, the opportunities to see each other's faces decrease.

As a result, much of the communication tends to become only business correspondence like,

'I have a request.'
'Please do this.'

as a result, it tends to be only business correspondence.

However,

Greeting each other when we occasionally meet. Having a little small talk. Knowing what kind of work the other person usually does.

Even just having those small interactions might change how subsequent requests are received.

Instead of looking only at the words of the request,what kind of relationship had been built up before that?

There seems to be a hint for thinking about this friction there as well.

Summary | Where is the line between a request and dumping work?

In this incident,

the person making the request also had a reason:

'I want to increase customer traffic.'

That was the reason.

The person receiving it also has reasons:

'I want to be convinced why we are the ones doing it.'
'I don't want my burden increased unilaterally.'

Those are the reasons.

Rather than one side being wrong,what lies between them was not sufficiently shared.

I feel that was the structure.

If so,

what is the difference between when a request looks like 'cooperation' and when it looks like 'dumping work'?

What lies between 'having spoken' and 'having been understood'?

Is collaboration about handing over roles?
Or is it about sharing the challenge together?

How is it in your workplace?

When you ask someone for something, are you able to see the same landscape, including the background of that request?

▼ Regarding this question,
I also wrote an article organizing it from a structural perspective.

Turn friction into structure.
Turn questions into assets.

Yuta