In my professional contexts I write to various readers – parishioners, vendors, volunteers, and inquirers, just to name a few.

I have to be careful of my responses to people.  I work for a church.  I have to be “nice”.  But there are times when it is difficult not to lose my temper.  For example, when dealing with our bank, we have had several problems due to the indifference of one of the bank’s employees.  It would not be nice if the “church lady” lost her temper and told them how things should be done.  Nor can I write a nasty email informing this woman on how to do her job.

In my professional communications I keep it simple and uncomplicated.  I ask for what I need, or place a direct request, or tell them my expectations.  In turn, they tend to respond in kind.  Where I am straightforward, they are as well.  The problem comes more from the informal communications – text messages, emails, etc.  Since I can’t infer tone in a text message or email, I have to be very careful about how I’m writing.  For example, recently I asked an employee to set up for a weekend event.  He didn’t have coverage for his children on the day of the event and said he would not be there.  I had to remind him that he’s known about this event since April.  The back and forth with texts became too much, and I called him into my office so we could chat about it. 

When writing texts and emails, knowing that tone should not be inferred/implied, I have learned to be very specific with what I need or what my expectations are.  This way, if there is a question, I can address it directly.  I’ve also learned that some things you can put in writing, but some things are better in a face-to-face meeting.

One thing that I need to work on is my response time.  Often I will have an email come in that I could answer right away, and it sits for two or three days waiting for me to attend to it.  That sends the message that I don’t care.  In general, though, it’s just a matter of time getting away from me. 

Finally, there are not too many ethical issues arising in my professional situation.  I am fortunate to have good people to work with.  However, once in a while I struggle with something that is over my head, or something that seems trivial to me but very important to someone else.  This is when I need to take a step back and re-evaluate the situation to see if there is more that I could be doing to help.