Wait For It

When this happened to me, I wasn’t sure how to respond. It felt a bit “extra” as my 13-year-old daughter would say. I thought about telling him our plans, and then I remembered I don’t know this person. Then, I sadly realized I wasn’t sure if we had any plans. Finally, with my mind a bit scrambled, and a line of un-caffeinated drivers behind me, I muttered, “Wait, what?” and drove off with my nitro cold brew with an extra shot of awkwardness, perplexity, and espresso.

The earnest young man at the window meant to make a connection. He smiled, he was friendly, he had a pep to his step only a young barista has at 6:08am. With all that said, the depth and personal nature of the inquiry still left me a bit perplexed. I wasn’t upset or offended, just a bit concerned about it all, and well aware that I was unaware of my plans for the weekend. 

My concern is, in our attempt to improve customer service and enhance the client experience, we may be going a bit quick, a dash too fast, adding an unnecessary shot of consumer connection, and in so doing, not allowing ample time for employees or customers to genuinely and sincerely…wait for it…cultivate authentic connection.

If I don’t know you, I may not want to divulge my personal plans. And at 6:08am on a Friday morning, I rarely know what I’m having for lunch that day, let alone, what the weekend entails. What I do know is we all need to practice patience and wait for these moments to unfold. In other words, authentic connections take time, so we should slow down a bit, earn the right to go there, and…wait for it.

As we wait for it, and during that time of building relationship, connection, and trust, it may be okay if we just nod and smile. In fact, that might be all that exchange requires. Maybe some eye contact and a sincere “have a nice day” will suffice in that moment, in that relationship, until we’ve earned the right to go further into personal plans for the weekend.

It's not called “forcing authentic connection” or “demanding authentic connection”. At Game On Nation, we call it “Cultivating Authentic Connection”, and it’s one of our signature CORE program offerings. What that means, and what we share in this training, is to plant some seeds, trust the process, tend to other people’s needs, and allow for relationships to naturally grow. The key word is to “cultivate” and give it some time.

As leaders, teachers, coaches, presenters, as we strive for connection, here are three take-aways that I took away when I grabbed my nitro cold brew and drove away:

1. Take The Time
Genuine relationships develop over time through patience, empathy, and consistent effort.

2. Context Matters
Not every moment calls for deep engagement. Sometimes a smile or kind gesture is all that’s required and/or necessary.

3. Keep It Real 
Meaningful connections grow best when we focus on sincerity and trust, not scripted interactions, upsells, or instant rapport.

Let’s all do our best to wait for it, and in the meantime, please feel free to share if you have any fun plans for the weekend! Wait, what?

Nitro Cold Brew On. Game On