Tool: Effective Requests

LSM586: Leading with Credibility

Cornell University

Tool: Effective Requests

Foster a Credibility Culture

Instructions:

To maximize the effectiveness and consistency of requests on your team, use these checklists when you make and respond to requests, and share them with your team.

Checklist for making a request or responding to a request

Use this checklistto verify a request you are about to make or agree to is complete.

Stated from the point of view of the requestor:

Action: What is it that I want or need to be done?

Requestor: Who is asking? Am I requesting on behalf of myself or someone else?

Performer: Who is being asked? Is the person I am asking going to fulfill personally or will they act as an intermediary?

Conditions of satisfaction: How will the person fulfilling the request and I both know that the request has been fulfilled satisfactorily?

Timeframe: By when (or before what other event) does the request need to be completed? Is there a preferred timeframe other than the absolute timeframe?

Justification (optional): Why do I need this to be done by this person, and/or what is driving the due date?

Stated from the point of view of the person being asked:

Action: What is it that I am agreeing to do?

Requestor: Who is asking? Is the person asking on behalf of themself or someone else?

Performer: Am I going to fulfill this request personally or pass it on to someone else?

Conditions of satisfaction: How will the person making the request and I both know that the request has been fulfilled satisfactorily?

Timeframe: By when (or before what other event) do I need to fulfill the request? Is there flexibility in the timeframe?

Justification (optional): What is the reason I am being asked to do this, and what is defining the timeframe for fulfillment?

Best Practices for Requests

Be Direct

Use these phrases:

I ask that you…
I request…
Will you please…?
Please do [specified action]…

Avoid these phrases:

I want… (This is a statement, not a request.)
I need… (This is also not a request.)
Why don’t you… (This is a question, not a request.)
[specified action] needs to be done.

Also avoid very indirect requests that identify a problem but don’t specify an approach to address the problem.

When a request involves more than one person, identify the roles and expectations for each person

Clarify Action

Tie the action to an expected or desired outcome.
Ask the question “Will the item or action produce the intended effect?”
As the person fulfilling the request, ask for clarification
Consider other potential consequences

Conditions of Satisfaction

Specify delivery parameters:
What format(s) are acceptable? Preferred?
To whom should it be delivered?
What method(s) of deliver are acceptable? Preferred?
Specify quality parameters:
Is there a minimum quality standard?
How will quality be judged?
Is there a benchmark, example,or template that can be used as a reference?

Clarify Time Frame

ASAP is not a timeframe.
Specify a time, such as 9a.m., close of business (COB), or end of day (EOD).
If the need is driven not by a date but by another contingent event, specify and make a plan for how the status of the contingency will be communicated.
Define flexibilityand constrain it.
Good: “Preferred Monday at noon, but Tuesday COB is soon enough.”
Poor: “Sometime this week if you can.”