I love to please people. So much so that at times my willingness to please can over commit me very quickly. In the end that’s not good for me or the people I’m trying to help. Most people working in a creative field are serving someone, usually the client. The fact is you need to please the client and the people you work for. However there is a fine line to pleasing everyone and taking on too much, in which case you may actually be doing a disservice to you and your client/employer.
You need to learn when to end the performance and take a bow.
“All the world’s a stage” – William Shakespeare
Taking a bow simply means knowing when you’ve completed the task at hand satisfactorily. Yes there is a time and place to bend over backwards and do more than was asked for but if you do that on every task you’ve committed to, time will soon be your enemy and time always wins. It wasn’t that long ago that I would fall prey to wanting to over deliver and please everyone on everything I was given. I learned the hard way but you don’t have too.
What can happen when you don’t take a bow:
- Your task list will soon overwhelm you. It’s a bit harsh to think of it this way but you need to set some limits. Solve the problem and move on.
- If you never say you are finished no one else will know. Sounds obvious. But this is so hard to do in practice. It requires skill and tactfulness.
- You rob a learning opportunity for your team. You can’t do it all, you need your team. They need to learn. Guide them, but let them take on the task.
How to know when you can take your bow:
- If you solved the issue and the client accepts it, it’s time to take your bow. Forget about the cherry on top. Don’t try to make it even better at this point. You need to change your mindset and accept that you are done.
How to take your bow:
- An actor will pause, have the room focus on him, bow, let the room applaud, and then gracefully get off the stage quickly.
- Keep it short and simple. A simple “thank you” ends most things. If your client said thank you to you then you should consider the task to be done satisfactorily. Improvement at this point is moot.
If you are a creative especially if you manager a creative team you need to know when to take your bow. Have you ever had a situation where you should have taken a bow but didn’t?
