Joyce Weiss

I work with organizations and individuals who want to kick conflict and chaos to the curb - Queen of Conflict Resolution and Communication Coach

By 4 Comments

Working With a Jerk: Story #3

mean man pointing fingerThis is the 3rd article on the topic Working With a Jerk.  There will be more stories on this topic because my readers have been sending me private messages describing their experiences.  I have enough examples to cover 6 months of articles!  You will receive more examples along with the other topics on resolving conflict in the workplace.  Are you ready for this week’s true story?  I hope so because it is another unbelievable one.

Janis and her mom work together in a mid sized company.  Jim is a colleague of theirs and is known for his sarcastic and biting words.  Janis, her mom and Jim were talking at lunch when Jim pointed his finger at Janis and said,  “Janis your hair cut suits you and your outfits are very professional…not like your mom’s outfits.”  Did you catch your breath?  Yes, this did actually happen!

I have four questions for you:

1.  What would you say to Jim if you were Janis?

2.  What would you say to Jim if you were Janis’ mother?

3.  What would you do if you were Jim’s boss and you heard this conversation?

4.  What story do you have about working for a jerk? 

I want to hear from you! 🙂

Click HERE to tell me how you would react and what you would say. 

Joyce, What Do You Think?

If I were Janis I would step back after the shock wore off and say something.  We don’t always have to say things immediately.  It is smart to back off and plan a strategy at times.  “I was caught off guard” is my favorite phrase to use when I speak to someone the next day. 
“Jim, I was caught off guard when I heard those mean comments about my mom when she was standing right next to us.  My mom and I were surprised about such insensitive words.”  This way you are setting up a boundary for Jim and “hopefully” he will think before he opens up his mouth again.  If he repeats his insensitive comments, I would do my best to stay away from him.  He will chose someone else to ridicule.

Click HERE if you want to read Working With a Jerk story #1.

I want to hear from you!

CLICK HERE to send me your questions or concerns. I enjoy hearing from my readers plus they get their questions answered. Let me know what topics you want me to write about concerning your own conflict in the workplace “issues.”

Want to share or use this Article in Your Newsletter or on Your Website?

Of course! You are welcome to print this, and any other articles we send, if you use the following byline:
A recognized expert on Resolving Conflict in the Workplace, Joyce Weiss, M.A., CSP is an author, accountability coach, and a Certified Speaking Professional. To book Joyce to speak at your event or company call: 800.713.1926 or email: Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com
Visit her website at ConflictInTheWorkplace.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Please CLICK HERE to Leave a Comment or Question

Send me any comments that you may have about this article. Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts to reduce conflict at the workplace and home. There may be someone in your life who is feeling stressed out…who could benefit from the inspiration and knowledge on improving their working condition or home life. Let them know about the “Communicate with Impact Weekly” so they can sign up for their own weekly articles.

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Business Conflict Resolution Consultant

I help people become top level leaders who get GREAT results.
How do I do this?
I teach them to tackle the tough conversations with bullies and negative people to build employee engagement, accountability, and rock star performance…
The Result? My clients resolve their conflict and they get a better night’s sleep!

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, on line professional growth coaching, and keynote speeches.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

Click HERE if you want to read Working With a Jerk story #1.

By 4 Comments

When You Work With A Jerk: Story #2

conflict fighting over money pileSome of you may be thinking that these articles were written just for you especially if your workplace has colleagues who don’t know how to work well with others.  Then again some of you may not relate to these examples of working with a jerk because your workplace is conflict free…lucky you!

This week’s story is one that really rocked my boat.  A few of my clients were discussing Pam, a manager who is extremely competitive during  my Be Direct with Respect® trainings.  Pam will do what ever she can to show her boss that she is the star manager who deserves a promotion.  Pam secretly took a video on her cell phone while Todd, another manager was making a presentation to a client.  Pam hoped to show her boss that Todd’s thick accent was a communication issue.  The  other team members understood Todd and most importantly the client did too.  Pam wanted to shine and let her boss know that Todd’s “language barrier” was stopping the team from making more sales. 

I have three questions for you:

1.  What would you do if you were the team members who thought Pam was out of line?
2.  What would you do if you were Pam’s boss?
3.  What would you do if you were Todd and found out what Pam did to you?

Click HERE to send me your response how you would react to the 3 questions above.

So, Joyce What Do You Think?

I will share your responses when after you send them to me at the link below.  The main idea is that trust is non existent on this team.  Expectations and communication have to be clear – which is the leader’s responsibility.  Competition works great especially with sales teams.  Brutal cut throat competition does not.  Think about your siblings and how they wanted mom and dad to love them the most.  🙂  It is not a pretty picture and at work it’s even worse.

Click HERE to read Article 1 on Working with a Jerk.

 Click HERE to read my article on So, Do You Think You Have a Strong Team?

 I want to hear from you!

CLICK HERE to send me your questions or concerns. I enjoy hearing from my readers plus they get their questions answered. Let me know what topics you want me to write about concerning your own conflict in the workplace “issues.”

Want to share or use this Article in Your Newsletter or on Your Website?

Of course! You are welcome to print this, and any other articles we send, if you use the following byline:
A recognized expert on Resolving Conflict in the Workplace, Joyce Weiss, M.A., CSP is an author, accountability coach, and a Certified Speaking Professional. To book Joyce to speak at your event or company call: 800.713.1926 or email: Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com
Visit her website at ConflictInTheWorkplace.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Please CLICK HERE to Leave a Comment or Question

Send me any comments that you may have about this article. Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts to reduce conflict at the workplace and home. There may be someone in your life who is feeling stressed out…who could benefit from the inspiration and knowledge on improving their working condition or home life. Let them know about the “Communicate with Impact Weekly” so they can sign up for their own weekly articles.

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Business Conflict Resolution Consultant and Business Therapist

I help people become top level leaders who get GREAT results.
How do I do this?
I teach them to tackle the tough conversations with bullies and negative people to build employee engagement, accountability, and rock star performance…
The Result? My clients resolve their conflict and they get a better night’s sleep!

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, on line professional growth coaching, and keynote speeches.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

 Click HERE to read my article on so, Do You Think You Have a Strong Team?

By 2 Comments

Complaints Reveal A Lot About A Person

mean little boyThere are times when most of us feel empathy for others who make legitimate complaints about health, relationships, work etc.  BUT there are other times when the complaints are so outrageous that we want to walk away or yell at the other person.  I was at a restaurant the other day and heard the following conversations:

“My house is so dusty and I can’t wait for the crew to leave!” You may be thinking so, Joyce what’s the big deal? The complainer is so lucky to have the resources to have her house remodeled. Dirt and dust are part of the reality when we are able to have home improvement. It is what it is.

This person’s friend didn’t miss a beat and in a VERY whiny voice said, “I’m not looking forward to going home because I have to pack for our 3 week cruise.” Again, you may be more tolerant to complainers than I am. This traveler is fortunate to go on such a luxurious vacation and packing is part of the equation when one travels. It is what it is! These 2 friends are perfect for each other.

So, Joyce, What are you telling us?

Complaints reveal a lot about the person who is speaking. We all know spoiled adults who sound like 2 year old children who are inconvenienced. They don’t do well when either large or small changes happen in their life. It can be a huge stress if we are unfortunate enough to work or live with people like this. Of course we all can turn into complainers at times…we are all human. I’m talking about the chronic complainer.

Here are 2 questions for you

1. What is a complaint that drives you crazy?

2. How do you handle people who are chronic complainers?

Click HERE to send me your responses

Click HERE for my article on Stop Complainers at Work or Home.

I want to hear from you!

CLICK HERE to send me your questions or concerns. I enjoy hearing from my readers plus they get their questions answered. Let me know what topics you want me to write about concerning your own conflict in the workplace “issues.”

Want to share or use this Article in Your Newsletter or on Your Website?

Of course! You are welcome to print this, and any other articles we send, if you use the following byline:
A recognized expert on Resolving Conflict in the Workplace, Joyce Weiss, M.A., CSP is an author, accountability coach, and a Certified Speaking Professional. To book Joyce to speak at your event or company call: 800.713.1926 or email: Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com
Visit her website at ConflictInTheWorkplace.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Please CLICK HERE to Leave a Comment or Question

Send me any comments that you may have about this article. Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts to reduce conflict at the workplace and home. There may be someone in your life who is feeling stressed out…who could benefit from the inspiration and knowledge on improving their working condition or home life. Let them know about the “Communicate with Impact Weekly” so they can sign up for their own weekly articles.

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Business Conflict Resolution Consultant
I help people become top level leaders who get GREAT results.
How do I do this?
I teach them to tackle the tough conversations with bullies and negative people to build employee engagement, accountability, and rock star performance…
The Result? My clients resolve their conflict and they get a better night’s sleep!

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, on line professional growth coaching, and keynote speeches.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

Click HERE to discover Joyce’s books that will bring a smile to your face while learning how to deal with those tough people in your life.

Click HERE for my article on Stop Complainers at Work or Home.

By Leave a Comment

This 1 Idea Will Reduce Negative Behavior

conflict sign be nice or leaveI recently watched a hearing between the Secret Service Director and Congress. It was extremely heated and I knew that I was going to write about this interaction in a future article. Let me refresh your memory. A few agents drank alcohol at a retirement party. After leaving the party, they crashed their car into the white house. It was on international news for several days.

Congress asked important and tough questions to the Secret Service Director and he repeatedly skirted all issues. Congressmen and women actually said, “What are you going to do about it?” The Director said, “I first need to get all of the facts.” Several members of Congress said the same thing, “Why not fire the agents on the spot? You need to make the hard decisions.” The Director was very nervous and it almost sounded like he was covering up the “real story.”

The bottom line is that there was a huge communication breakdown in the Department. Supposedly the Director did not hear about this incident for a few days. I ask the question, why didn’t he hear about this sooner?

Reasons why there are communication breakdowns:

  • Fear of retribution
  • Covering-up for each other
  • Dysfunctional cultural barriers
  • The wrong fit for roles and job responsibilities
  • Not knowing who to go to for answers
  • Unclear expectations
  • Too much red tape

We still don’t know the facts about this embarrassing situation. There have been several mistakes in the last few years and it is obvious that leadership is weak. … [Continue reading]

By Leave a Comment

Why Successful People Believe in Mentoring

Here Are a Few Questions For You:

  • Have you used a mentor in your life? set up a mentor program 6
  • Have you mentored others?
  • Have you had a mentor to discuss how you would handle tough conversations?
  • Would you like to learn how to improve relationships at work?
  • Do you want to know strategies on how to reduce conflict in the workplace?

I will be addressing these questions in future articles.  One topic will be Whose responsibility is it to give constructive feedback, the mentee’s boss or the mentor?  I have heard this frustration expressed from many mentors.  Stay tuned for some interesting information.  Feel free to send me your experience either as a mentor or mentee. 

I am creating a new workshop on Top Level Mentoring Skills for a client of mine.  It has been fascinating interviewing people on how mentoring has helped them in their life.  AOL Time Warner Foundation wrote that 99% of individuals already in a formal mentoring relationship would recommend mentoring to others.

Reasons Why Mentoring is So Powerful

  • Receive unbiased opinions
  • Someone who helps others reach their goals
  • Someone to go to when challenges arise
  • The company retains experienced employees because their contributions are valued

… [Continue reading]

Contact Joyce

Email: joyce@joyceweiss.com
Phone: 248-681-5831