There is something delicious about sitting in judgment of others.

 I was having coffee with someone last week and the subject  of judging others came up.

It got me thinking….why do we sit in judgment of others?

Is it because it is part of our job description? 

Is it because we like being “right” and telling others that they are “wrong” or at least “not as right as we are?” 

More importantly, what is the impact on us, the workplace, and our peers when we sit in judgment of others AND do so inappropriately?

What I mean by “inappropriately“?  

Let me paint a picture…You are working hard.  Someone says something to you that YOU find dumb, insensitive, or whacked.  You make a determination about that person’s character and competence BUT you never check it out to see if the person INTENDED to mean, insensitive or whacked.

As a result, your working relationship changes for the worse.

I will bet for those people with whom you have a poor working relationship that you can point to an exact moment when the relationship went downhill.

Now take 5 seconds to evaluate if you ever checked in with the person to verify if they did indeed INTEND to damage you or the working relationship.  If you didn’t verify their intention then you may have inappropriately sat in judgment.

Tweet This Post

The causes of work place conflict are there- You just need to know what to look for

The International Association of Business Communication   asked me to contribute to their CW Bulletin: Effective Conflict Management.    There are some great article there by folks, like me, who are geeks for conflict.

I chose to write on teh Top 10 (Hidden) Sources of Workplace Conflict.  Here is an excerpt of the article. For the full article check out the CW Bulletin.

“The best internal communication systems can break down. The top performers can be a pain when they  push for their own agendas and timelines.  Even the “Best Places to Work” suffer from workplace conflict.  Unless the hidden sources that cause and escalate the tension and conflict are addressed, bad things happen:  conflict escalates; people suffer; managers lose credibility; business suffers.
The pain of unresolved conflict can be avoided – but only if the source of the conflict is addressed. Here are the Top 10 hidden escalators of conflict at work, how to recognize them, and what to do about them.”

Tweet This Post

the looking glass

Here is something for you to ponder. I received it in an email this morning from a colleague:

In the morning my new mantra before I step on the floor to say good morning to my friends. I say to myself-

“Today I will look at this floor through the eyes of an owner.”

I find if I am subconsciously asking myself “If this was my building and my business, how would I see the things around me?” 

In the evening I ask myself

“Did I do more good than harm today?” and “Why did I just answer that way?”

This forces me to “STOP!” and take a personal inventory of the day. If I am off track then I use that as my focus for tomorrow.

So how is your day going?

Tweet This Post

Join me on June 3 at 3 pm Pacific time.  I will be the guest of Larry Kaminer, President of The Personal Safety Training Group (www.personalsafetygroup.com )for Blog Talk Radio Live Call in Program Managing Conflict in the Workplace. We will talk about:

Early recognition of tension, conflict, and potential violence in the workplace and the impact of gender on workplace conflict and resolution. Cool stuff that you really need to know.

Tweet This Post

8. It takes an average of 2.5 times a person’s salary to find a replacement. Sharon Jordan Evans, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em

9. Companies that have a thriving employee recognition strategy are more profitable – outperforming S&P 500 companies by 30-40%. Contented Cows Give Better Milk

www.recognitionworks.net

Tweet This Post

No surprise. News of recession will have a negative impact on employee morale. Disheartened employees mean disengaged employees. In the current economic climate if a business is to survive, the work force must be fully engaged-emotionally, physically, even spiritually.

The unfortunate reality is that many companies will go under because of failure to motivate, empower, and acknowledge their employees.

Instead of deliberately and consistently communicating with employees, employers will go into “shut down” mode. The result will be increased fear among employees and mistrust of management.

According to the Respectful Workplace Blog:

“Communicate constantly to minimize uncertainty. Uncertainty arouses the fear circuits in the brain and is an absolute killer to employee productivity. When people are unsure about the stability of their organization, their standing with their boss or supervisor, or a clear understanding of what’s expected of them, most assume the worst. The ensuing stress decreases the amount of a chemical called dopamine in the brain, a chemical that is critical for clear thinking and reasoning by the prefrontal cortex. Continuous uncertainty can also increase the levels of cortisol in the body, too much of which can permanently damage both the brain and the circulatory system.”

The morale to this story is that survival in the current economy will depend on EVERYONE in the organization bringing their best selves to work.

Tweet This Post