At work how do you respond when someone offends you? Fact is no matter how ‘mad’ you are, you have to deal with it professionally. Here are some tips to help you keep things in perspective and stop offence from escalating unnecessarily.
NO SNOWBALLING PLEASE: If someone offends you and you find yourself telling a lot of people it suggests that it bothers you in which case you probably need to resolve it. Continuing to talk about it instead of dealing with it makes you come across as cranky. So deal with the issues quickly and with integrity.
NO RESOLUTION VIA EMAIL: We communicate a lot by email these days and the temptation to settle conflict or deal with offence through email is tempting. Some may even deliberately use email because it takes away the discomfort of having a difficult conversation face to face. But this never works as email leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation, plus you miss out on non-verbal clues like body language which are very important in communication.
DON’T REACY WHILST STILL EMOTIONAL: This can be tough but one good incentive to do so is that when you’re emotional, you could be irrational and act in a way that you feel embarrassed at later. Choose to act soberly. It’s a good promise to make to yourself. Chances are you will be working with whoever offended you don’t get overtaken by your offense or nurse your hurt feelings for too long.
KNOW WHAT APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR IS: No one can tell you how you should or not feel about a situation but unfortunately how you express whatever you are feeling should be measured and in line with what is deemed reasonable behaviour. Even if you are very angry of feel grossly offended, take a deep breath, focus on any facts of the situation to keep things balanced.
Now take action: What one thing can you do to keep your cool?
Saturday, November 24, 2012
TEAM your best everyday
If you work in a team you are more than one member of a collection of individuals. You have a responsibility to make the team strong, be dependable and work towards achieving objectives. You must ‘TEAM’ everyday; he’s how to do so;
TAP YOUR TOP TALENT: You know yourself best and should tap into your top skills. Take joint responsibility for creating the kind of environment you like to work in, where you feel confident to draw on your skill sets and opportunities to use those skills. As a team member, make efforts to know the talents of your team and how yours complements theirs to deliver team objectives.
ENGAGE FOR EXCELLENCE: Don’t get so focussed on doing the day job that you don’t make time to reflect on whether you are doing your best as opposed to just ticking off items on your ‘to do’ list? How do you tell if you are doing your best, what does your standard of excellence look like? How does that compare with what the team together is trying to achieve?
ACCOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTION: There are two parts to your job, the first is to do it and do it well and the second is to make sure what you are doing is productive enough to demonstrate tangible results. If you had to define your contribution to team goals without referring to the tasks you do, what would you say? What would your team lose if you did not do your best work day in day out?.
MOTIVATE FOR DISCRETIONARY EFFORT: Make what you know you are capable of the yardstick for your performance not the Job description. Find your own triggers and incentives to drive your higher performance. That includes putting yourself in the best frame of mind to work well and knowing how to pick yourself up on the days you feel lousy.
Now take action: What is the one thing your team can always count on you for?
TAP YOUR TOP TALENT: You know yourself best and should tap into your top skills. Take joint responsibility for creating the kind of environment you like to work in, where you feel confident to draw on your skill sets and opportunities to use those skills. As a team member, make efforts to know the talents of your team and how yours complements theirs to deliver team objectives.
ENGAGE FOR EXCELLENCE: Don’t get so focussed on doing the day job that you don’t make time to reflect on whether you are doing your best as opposed to just ticking off items on your ‘to do’ list? How do you tell if you are doing your best, what does your standard of excellence look like? How does that compare with what the team together is trying to achieve?
ACCOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTION: There are two parts to your job, the first is to do it and do it well and the second is to make sure what you are doing is productive enough to demonstrate tangible results. If you had to define your contribution to team goals without referring to the tasks you do, what would you say? What would your team lose if you did not do your best work day in day out?.
MOTIVATE FOR DISCRETIONARY EFFORT: Make what you know you are capable of the yardstick for your performance not the Job description. Find your own triggers and incentives to drive your higher performance. That includes putting yourself in the best frame of mind to work well and knowing how to pick yourself up on the days you feel lousy.
Now take action: What is the one thing your team can always count on you for?
Will you pass the 3 way test?
Most people only care about what their boss thinks. But for long term career progress you’ll want to take interest in what others think too. Your work is judged every day by several people. Here are 3 groups whose views should matter to you.
YOUR PEERS: Your peers are probably the ones you work most closely with and who have direct experience of your work. What they think is important because their direct feedback can be available to you day to day and that feedback can help you improve your work as you do it. If your peers think highly of your work, you are on the right track.
YOUR SUPERIORS: These are more than your direct manager. They are people above you in the hierarchy, the ones who make decisions about your future. And that’s not the only reason why you should take their opinions seriously; you should because they operate at a higher level and have a broader view of how your work contributes at an organisational level. Such views are critical as they demonstrate the extended value of your contribution beyond your team.
YOUR COLLEAGUES: These are those who are neither peers in terms of rank nor your bosses. And many people make the mistake of ignoring the people less senior to them. Often because they feel they don’t need these colleagues. They may not have a direct say on your career prospects but their suggestions can help you lead well. If you aim to become a better leader you can’t do that without listening to a range of views. Also, although you may not manage these colleagues, you have a responsibility to set a good example, be the leader they want to look up to.
Now take action: What would you like your peers to say about your work?
YOUR PEERS: Your peers are probably the ones you work most closely with and who have direct experience of your work. What they think is important because their direct feedback can be available to you day to day and that feedback can help you improve your work as you do it. If your peers think highly of your work, you are on the right track.
YOUR SUPERIORS: These are more than your direct manager. They are people above you in the hierarchy, the ones who make decisions about your future. And that’s not the only reason why you should take their opinions seriously; you should because they operate at a higher level and have a broader view of how your work contributes at an organisational level. Such views are critical as they demonstrate the extended value of your contribution beyond your team.
YOUR COLLEAGUES: These are those who are neither peers in terms of rank nor your bosses. And many people make the mistake of ignoring the people less senior to them. Often because they feel they don’t need these colleagues. They may not have a direct say on your career prospects but their suggestions can help you lead well. If you aim to become a better leader you can’t do that without listening to a range of views. Also, although you may not manage these colleagues, you have a responsibility to set a good example, be the leader they want to look up to.
Now take action: What would you like your peers to say about your work?
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