Communication can take strange routes.

Usually, when people tell me “thank you for your understanding” it happens when I’ve let them have their will. They’ve asked for a change of appointment, postponed something, or asked me to acknowledge something else.

By saying thank you in such a way, they calm themselves and somehow release themselves from having pushed their will onto the other. It is a way to deny reciprocity and the possibility that they depended on the other accepting their request.

Naturally the above sounds very rigorous if not too strong a statement.

However, if this is the case, what about asking yourself what you understood in such a situation? What does it look like when you don’t have to tell anybody?

Remember, that it might often be challenging to get a true answer from others when what they are sharing is on a socially comfortable level.

As a leader, pay attention to these moments. What is it, that is uncomfortable for you in such situations?