It’s better to communicate bad news and difficult messages than to avoid it – even if it’s hard and uncomfortable. It’s even better to have a plan. Sure, you can put bad news right out there like this -- “We’re not replacing Sue, so everyone needs to take on some of her tasks.” “Your territory is
A leader asked her employee to complete a report “ASAP”. Her employee did AFTER the employee finished the other five things she was working on. What does ASAP mean anyway? Yeah, yeah, I know that it stands for As Soon As Possible, but what does it really mean? Because YOUR As Soon As Possible can
“When you assume, it makes an A@@ out of U and ME.” There is some truth to the phrase above. When we make assumptions about what a person means we generally find ourselves in a heap of crappy communication. It’s not all your fault though. Some people just don’t know how to use powerful communication.
It’s exasperating to work with someone who suffers from analysis paralysis. I worked with someone like this. When he wrote an email it included more information than anyone wanted, needed, or had time to read. Time seemed to move more slowly for him. Yeah, he was difficult to work with. Anyone who works with someone
It’s suspect to work with someone who is too nice. I worked with someone like this. She wanted to be everyone’s best friend. To her own detriment she avoided sharing her opinion. Yeah, she was difficult to work with. You might be thinking what could be wrong with being nice? It is a fair question.
It’s annoying to work with someone who demands the spotlight. I worked with someone like this. She acted like she was an expert at everything. Not to mention taking credit for others’ work and hijacking conversations. Yeah, she was difficult to work with. In their book Dealing with People You Can’t Stand, authors Brinkman and
It’s maddening to work with someone who runs you over because their goals are more important than anyone else’s. I worked with someone like this. He was controlling. He talked over me and others in meetings and rolled his eyes when I made suggestions. Not to mention saying things like, “We don’t have time to
Uncomfortable. Scary. Difficult. Challenging. Time-consuming. Fight. Adversarial. Loud. Exhausting. That is a list of words I heard last week when I asked a team this question - What are two words that come to mind when you think of conflict? Maybe you feel the same. Maybe you are wondering how you could ever enjoy conflict.
I was a go kart passenger driven by a daring, competitive 9-year-old this weekend. Lap after lap she held off the other drivers so that we would round the track in first place every lap. The photo above didn’t capture our crash and burn finish. We crossed the finish line and were told to “brake,
I guess it’s not really a matter of earning the right to celebrate Effective Communications Month, but rather what are you doing to communicate effectively? There are a lot of bad communicators out there – heck, that’s what keeps me in business. Are you one of them? Are you the bad communicator that makes others
