se drastically and may not come back to where you wanted them to be.

•Stand your ground – Be open to suggestions, however, it is your company, if you need to get to point B from point A, there may be a better route to take that you are not aware of, when you are open to other suggestions you can get to the end result perhaps in a more expedient manner, however, it is important to stand your ground on the end goal.

•Find the truths – When disappointment occurs in the workplace, from an internal team member or vendor, it is very important to examine the truths about the situation before you go off the deep end, normally there are a number of events that have occurred that have lead to the situation, this is why expectations, alignment, buy-in, timelines, reporting are critically important.

•Celebrate – no matter how big or small your achievement is, celebrate your successes. When you celebrate achievements, victories, and other items worthy of celebration the feelings of disappointment will lessen a

Workplace disappointment is a growing problem in today’s small business IT marketplace, the inability for technicians to deliver quality and timely services to clients due to increasing demands and lack of quality talent in the available talent pool right through to vendors not coming through on promises in the channel is causing the level of disappointment to rise right through the ceiling.

What happens when disappointment takes over? This is a huge problem for business leaders in the small business world. When it is a small issue and not tackled in the early stages can grow to become a over powering concern which can lead to mental health issues like depression and other an overall feelings of “why bother”.

Many owners of small business consulting firms when they hit the stage where workplace disappointment is no longer a small weekly challenge often have feelings of personal guilt that they are the source of the problem, questioning themselves, “is it me?” or “what have I done to warrant this disappointment?” and other common question is “Are my expectations to high and resulting in this disappointment?” It is normally nothing that the business owner has done personally, however, it is a result of the marketplace today.

How to you know you are becoming overwhelmed with disappointment? The easiest way to determine if you are starting to have a difficult time dealing with feelings of disappointment is when you start exhibiting the same behaviours that you are concerned about. These can range from avoidance of issues, ignoring peoples requests, going after the low hanging fruit instead of perhaps your usual striving for the fruit at the top of the tree, general feelings of why bother and general disappearance from the daily routine.

Business owners of small business IT firms need to examine the facts of why disappointment in the workplace has occurred, is it skill related, a personal conflict or someone that just doesn’t fit into what you are hoping to achieve.

The small business technology space moves at a rapid pace, no one person or company can go at it alone. Business owners need a support group to assist with the stresses of day to day business life. These groups can be made up of other professionals in the same geographical area to a peer group built nationwide of likeminded business owners that come together to support each other. One great example of a peer group formed to help other small business IT consultants is the Heartland Technology Group. The purpose of HTG is to bring like-minded IT business owners together to share in each other experiences and to be board of advisors for the member organizations.

We need to stop blaming ourselves for disappointment in the workplace and start focusing on what is needed to have all levels of people that we deal with the understand what is expected from their dealing with you. Here are some basic tips that may assist you in dealing with workplace disappointment:

•Set expectations early – When you let your business partners or employees know what the expectations are early in the process, this can lessen unexpected disappointment if it happens you have something that you can go back to. When you set expectations, it is critically important that your expectations are clearly understood to what you are striving to achieve and that they can be clearly repeated back to you.

•Get Buy-in early and alignment – Combining early expectations with buy-in will lessen any form of disappointment from happening. When you have buy-in from others, they automatically take on the responsibility of getting things done. It is very important that you have buy-in from the team or person and that their skills are aligned with what you want to achieve. If the alignment is not there, then the other party will struggle and may not be able to deliver.

•Set Timelines – When you set timelines with reporting periods that must be met, you can keep the project or task on course, if you do not set timelines or reporting periods, projects and tasks can veer off course drastically and may not come back to where you wanted them to be.

•Stand your ground – Be open to suggestions, however, it is your company, if you need to get to point B from point A, there may be a better route to take that you are not aware of, when you are open to other suggestions you can get to the end result perhaps in a more expedient manner, however, it is important to stand your ground on the end goal.

•Find the truths – When disappointment occurs in the workplace, from an internal team member or vendor, it is very important to examine the truths about the situation before you go off the deep end, normally there are a number of events that have occurred that have lead to the situation, this is why expectations, alignment, buy-in, timelines, reporting are critically important.

•Celebrate – no matter how big or small your achievement is, celebrate your successes. When you celebrate achievements, victories, and other items worthy of celebration the feelings of disappointment will lessen an

ointment?” and other common question is “Are my expectations to high and resulting in this disappointment?” It is normally nothing that the business owner has done personally, however, it is a result of the marketplace today.

How to you know you are becoming overwhelmed with disappointment? The easiest way to determine if you are starting to have a difficult time dealing with feelings of disappointment is when you start exhibiting the same behaviours that you are concerned about. These can range from avoidance of issues, ignoring peoples requests, going after the low hanging fruit instead of perhaps your usual striving for the fruit at the top of the tree, general feelings of why bother and general disappearance from the daily routine.

Business owners of small business IT firms need to examine the facts of why disappointment in the workplace has occurred, is it skill related, a personal conflict or someone that just doesn’t fit into what you are hoping to achieve.

The small business technology space moves at a rapid pace, no one person or company can go at it alone. Business owners need a support group to assist with the stresses of day to day business life. These groups can be made up of other professionals in the same geographical area to a peer group built nationwide of likeminded business owners that come together to support each other. One great example of a peer group formed to help other small business IT consultants is the Heartland Technology Group. The purpose of HTG is to bring like-minded IT business owners together to share in each other experiences and to be board of advisors for the member organizations.

We need to stop blaming ourselves for disappointment in the workplace and start focusing on what is needed to have all levels of people that we deal with the understand what is expected from their dealing with you. Here are some basic tips that may assist you in dealing with workplace disappointment:

•Set expectations early – When you let your business partners or employees know what the expectations are early in the process, this can lessen unexpected disappointment if it happens you have something that you can go back to. When you set expectations, it is critically important that your expectations are clearly understood to what you are striving to achieve and that they can be clearly repeated back to you.

•Get Buy-in early and alignment – Combining early expectations with buy-in will lessen any form of disappointment from happening. When you have buy-in from others, they automatically take on the responsibility of getting things done. It is very important that you have buy-in from the team or person and that their skills are aligned with what you want to achieve. If the alignment is not there, then the other party will struggle and may not be able to deliver.

•Set Timelines – When you set timelines with reporting periods that must be met, you can keep the project or task on course, if you do not set timelines or reporting periods, projects and tasks can veer off course drastically and may not come back to where you wanted them to be.

•Stand your ground – Be open to suggestions, however, it is your company, if you need to get to point B from point A, there may be a better route to take that you are not aware of, when you are open to other suggestions you can get to the end result perhaps in a more expedient manner, however, it is important to stand your ground on the end goal.

•Find the truths – When disappointment occurs in the workplace, from an internal team member or vendor, it is very important to examine the truths about the situation before you go off the deep end, normally there are a number of events that have occurred that have lead to the situation, this is why expectations, alignment, buy-in, timelines, reporting are critically important.

•Celebrate – no matter how big or small your achievement is, celebrate your successes. When you celebrate achievements, victories, and other items worthy of celebration the feelings of disappointment will lessen a

space moves at a rapid pace, no one person or company can go at it alone. Business owners need a support group to assist with the stresses of day to day business life. These groups can be made up of other professionals in the same geographical area to a peer group built nationwide of likeminded business owners that come together to support each other. One great example of a peer group formed to help other small business IT consultants is the Heartland Technology Group. The purpose of HTG is to bring like-minded IT business owners together to share in each other experiences and to be board of advisors for the member organizations.

We need to stop blaming ourselves for disappointment in the workplace and start focusing on what is needed to have all levels of people that we deal with the understand what is expected from their dealing with you. Here are some basic tips that may assist you in dealing with workplace disappointment:

•Set expectations early – When you let your business partners or employees know what the expectations are early in the process, this can lessen unexpected disappointment if it happens you have something that you can go back to. When you set expectations, it is critically important that your expectations are clearly understood to what you are striving to achieve and that they can be clearly repeated back to you.

•Get Buy-in early and alignment – Combining early expectations with buy-in will lessen any form of disappointment from happening. When you have buy-in from others, they automatically take on the responsibility of getting things done. It is very important that you have buy-in from the team or person and that their skills are aligned with what you want to achieve. If the alignment is not there, then the other party will struggle and may not be able to deliver.

•Set Timelines – When you set timelines with reporting periods that must be met, you can keep the project or task on course, if you do not set timelines or reporting periods, projects and tasks can veer off course drastically and may not come back to where you wanted them to be.

•Stand your ground – Be open to suggestions, however, it is your company, if you need to get to point B from point A, there may be a better route to take that you are not aware of, when you are open to other suggestions you can get to the end result perhaps in a more expedient manner, however, it is important to stand your ground on the end goal.

•Find the truths – When disappointment occurs in the workplace, from an internal team member or vendor, it is very important to examine the truths about the situation before you go off the deep end, normally there are a number of events that have occurred that have lead to the situation, this is why expectations, alignment, buy-in, timelines, reporting are critically important.

•Celebrate – no matter how big or small your achievement is, celebrate your successes. When you celebrate achievements, victories, and other items worthy of celebration the feelings of disappointment will lessen a

know what the expectations are early in the process, this can lessen unexpected disappointment if it happens you have something that you can go back to. When you set expectations, it is critically important that your expectations are clearly understood to what you are striving to achieve and that they can be clearly repeated back to you.

•Get Buy-in early and alignment – Combining early expectations with buy-in will lessen any form of disappointment from happening. When you have buy-in from others, they automatically take on the responsibility of getting things done. It is very important that you have buy-in from the team or person and that their skills are aligned with what you want to achieve. If the alignment is not there, then the other party will struggle and may not be able to deliver.

•Set Timelines – When you set timelines with reporting periods that must be met, you can keep the project or task on course, if you do not set timelines or reporting periods, projects and tasks can veer off course drastically and may not come back to where you wanted them to be.

•Stand your ground – Be open to suggestions, however, it is your company, if you need to get to point B from point A, there may be a better route to take that you are not aware of, when you are open to other suggestions you can get to the end result perhaps in a more expedient manner, however, it is important to stand your ground on the end goal.

•Find the truths – When disappointment occurs in the workplace, from an internal team member or vendor, it is very important to examine the truths about the situation before you go off the deep end, normally there are a number of events that have occurred that have lead to the situation, this is why expectations, alignment, buy-in, timelines, reporting are critically important.

•Celebrate – no matter how big or small your achievement is, celebrate your successes. When you celebrate achievements, victories, and other items worthy of celebration the feelings of disappointment will lessen a

se drastically and may not come back to where you wanted them to be.

•Stand your ground – Be open to suggestions, however, it is your company, if you need to get to point B from point A, there may be a better route to take that you are not aware of, when you are open to other suggestions you can get to the end result perhaps in a more expedient manner, however, it is important to stand your ground on the end goal.

•Find the truths – When disappointment occurs in the workplace, from an internal team member or vendor, it is very important to examine the truths about the situation before you go off the deep end, normally there are a number of events that have occurred that have lead to the situation, this is why expectations, alignment, buy-in, timelines, reporting are critically important.

•Celebrate – no matter how big or small your achievement is, celebrate your successes. When you celebrate achievements, victories, and other items worthy of celebration the feelings of disappointment will lessen and soon the feelings of success will fill the space once occupied by disappointment.

Workplace disappointment if not dealt with early will lead to other complications in your life inside and outside your business. Some people you deal with will never change, it is up to you to seek out the performers and others that share the same concepts as you do. Set expectations early, align your team, ensure you have buy-in, confirm understanding of the expectations, review your timelines and stand your ground with flexibility and hopefully your workplace disappointment will be minimized. Do your homework, approach the situation in a calm, level-headed manner that will allow you to make an educated decision on the matter at hand.