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 Leave a Comment

Stop Complainers at Work or Home

Stop Complaints Now!
Stop Complaints Now!

I see a pattern lately in my training sessions concerning conflict in the workplace and at home.  After my clients learn new skills to use when they have tough conversations at work, they usually say, “Joyce, I can use these tools with my kids or partner!”  This is music to my ears.  One of my main reasons to work as a Business Conflict Resolution Consultant is to help others  gain balance their life and to deal with conflict in a positive way and NOT let it fester inside.  It’s all about the results that you get.  Remember, You Get What You Tolerate!

This article has 2 resources.  One tool that I use during my Be Direct with Respect® Workshop and an exciting article written by my friend and colleague, Lisa Lapides Sawicki.

This technique will help you stop the BLAME Game at work or home. 

The next time someone starts blaming someone or you try this tip.

“The kitchen is a mess (this can be at work or home)”  Instead of making excuses and saying, “No it’s not”  or  getting defensive and saying “I’m not the only person who uses the kitchen.”  Stop the vicious blame game cycle and say, “You are right.  The kitchen is a mess, let’s stop blaming others and start working together to fix this place up to get ready for our meeting.” 

I can hear some of you saying, “Joyce, this conversation will not recognize who made the kitchen dirty.”  You are correct!  This technique stops the constant complaining and gets results…a clean kitchen.  A future blog will cover how to approach the person who is responsible for making the mess.  This technique helps when you want to get some quick results. 

Here is the article that was written by Lisa Lapides Sawicki

Click Here to read the very interesting and informative article that was published in CNN.Com. You will find great ideas on how to deal with tough conversations.

Lisa Lapides Sawicki is a Certified Life Coach who specializes in Romance and Adult to Adult Relationships.  She also has a background in dealing with Narcissism.
You can reach Lisa at 619.722.5056.  Check out her website   You will not be disappointed!

Want to 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 www.JoyceWeiss.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Was this helpful?

Please send me any comments that you may have for this article. Hit the link at the end of this post to share your ideas or questions. 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.

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 get a better night’s sleep!

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

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

 

By Leave a Comment

Your Employees Won’t Know the Expectations You Don’t Bestow

start a discussion commit 10We all know that communication is the most common challenge that causes much conflict in the workplace.  The biggest issue for my clients is when their team seems confused about their expectations.  I always ask the leaders if they are sure that they have communicated their expectations in a clear way to their team.  The answer is usually, “Of course, Joyce, my team knows what I expect them to do.”  This is where it gets extremely interesting!  Employees let me know that they are NOT clear about their job functions or responsibilities when I interview them for the training.  Where is the disconnect?  The answer depends on so many factors. 

The main idea in this article is for leaders to ask themselves if they communicate what they want to to team in a detailed and specific way.  Mind reading gets all of us in trouble.

Many leaders have these unspoken expectations:

  • When you disagree with me, let me know.
  • Don’t wait until the last minute to start a project.
  • I expect projects done on time, even if it means working late.
  • I want you to take the initiative and think for yourself.
  • Give me regular status reports, so I don’t get last minute surprises.

Check out this article on There is not a law against sharing ideas with your team

 Want to 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 www.JoyceWeiss.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Was this helpful?

Please send me any comments that you may have for this article. Hit the link at the end of this post to share your ideas or questions. 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.

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 get a better night’s sleep!

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

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

Check out this article on There is not a law against sharing ideas with your team

By Leave a Comment

Stir Up Your Team’s Fire and Help Them Agree on Their Desires

fireYour colleagues have worked hard to develop into a strong team. Here are your next steps to develop even stronger qualities for a successful team:

Get people emotionally involved.

Goals need to be simple, realistic, attainable, and emotionally driven. Perhaps it means becoming a complaint-free company or creating a word-of-mouth marketing plan. It’s the emotion that moves people to action.  Send me how you get your team fired up at the comment link below.

Work on team consensus.

Once the team agrees on a goal, that’s it – agreement is final.  It means everyone has to take action. If someone doesn’t like the goal, he or she has to bring it up during the meeting and not gossip after the meeting is over. 

     Click here to check out the article on Creating a Code of Honor to stop gossiping about a change made by the team.

Want to 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 www.JoyceWeiss.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Was this helpful?

Please send me any comments that you may have for this article. Hit the link at the end of this post to share your ideas or questions. 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.

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 get a better night’s sleep!

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

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

PS  Click here to check out the article on Creating a Code of Honor to stop gossiping about a change made by the team.

By Leave a Comment

Buck Up Your Team to Buck Up Your Bottom Line

conflict man megaphone to womanLately I’ve been asked to help leaders communicate the importance of their team going in the right direction – even when they are experiencing conflict in the workplace.  The tips in this article are taken directly from my last few training sessions.  We spent time on specific case scenarios for each of the departments in order to get the input from everyone.

I have a question for you…How can your team improve to be even stronger than it is right now?

Today’s bold tips are the following:

1. Support the team-especially when there’s conflict.

     The real test of the strength of a team is when there’s disagreement. You will know that you have a supportive team when members learn to mediate differences of opinion.  Different 
     equals different.  Different does not equal wrong.  This one idea meant a lot to my participants.  They shared how having a difference of opinion and expressing this difference 
     in a respectful way will have an impact in creating team support.

2. Lead by example.

     If you’re critical, expect your team to be less supportive. On the other  hand, if you arrive early, take on more than your share, and are supportive, you’ll be modeling the kind of behavior that
     you want your team to display.  Also, model life balance by demanding that your team members take their vacations and have a personal life.  The trend is changing about the importance 
     of NOT being workaholics.  This is a good thing since the younger generations already live by this example.

3. Encourage risk taking.

     No one wants to make a mistake, especially if the team will be punished.  We discussed mistakes that the leaders made during the week.  Each leader then said, “OK, I have shared my
     mistakes, it’s now time for everyone to outdo me.  What are the mistakes that you made this week?”  At first there was some tension, then the laughter started when the team knew that they
     were actually asked to share not only what went wrong but also what they learned so the mistake “probably” won’t be repeated.  This is a very powerful exercise and it is a win-win for
     everyone.

PS  Click here to watch a 3 minute video that will help you remove silos at work to buck up your team to buck up your bottom line

Want to 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 www.JoyceWeiss.com to sign up for your own FREE video series and Communicate with Impact Weekly to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace.

Was this helpful?

   Please send me any comments that you may have for this article. Hit the link at the end of this post to share your ideas or questions. 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.

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 get a better night’s sleep!

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

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

PS  Click here to watch a 3 minute video that will help you remove silos at work to buck up your team to buck up your bottom line

By Leave a Comment

Go From FEAR to In GEAR

Joe Brown and Adrienne Coleman at BCBSM
Joe Brown and Adrienne Coleman at BCBSM

Joe Brown, from Blue Cross Blue Shield of MI brought me in to speak and do a book signing during National Management Association week in Detroit.  Thanks to Joe Brown and Adrienne Coleman who made me feel like part of their Blue Cross Blue Shield family.  I read from the chapter STRESS:  “I’m afraid to take off the training wheels” – Go From Fear to In Gear. 

This post consists of a powerful story from my book, Take the Ride of Your Life!  I hope that you enjoy the message as much as Joe and Adrienne’s team did.  They asked very powerful and insightful questions during the discussion.

Alyce’s Story

Alyce is a crisis counselor for abused women. She understands the power of asking for and giving help. She spent her earliest childhood in a Louisiana migrant camp. She remembers watching her mom pick tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, apples, peaches, and cherries under broiling southern skies.

“My first bike did not even have wheels. It was a real old Schwinn. Everybody took turns pushing each other on it, because it didn’t pedal,” she recalled.
“It had a big seat on it, and we pretty much taught ourselves to ‘ride’ it. All the kids took turns holding the bike and pushed each other until we skinned our knees. We had a ball.”
It wasn’t until Alyce turned eleven or twelve and moved to Michigan that she got her first new bicycle.

When Alyce thinks about her bikes she has some keen insights. 
“That first bike wasn’t complete. Yet, a bunch of kids got together and supported each other so we could all play. Then all of a sudden, I had a bike that I could ride myself. It’s like my life. I love doing things with people, for people. I’m much more content with this than being by myself. I’m happy with my life. Now I have a full bike with everything
on it — and I’m sharing it.”

Click here to order your own copy of Take the Ride of Your Life.  It is an easy summer read to help you Shift Gears for More Balance, Growth and Joy.

Joyce’s Thoughts
Many of us don’t ask for help because we think it is a sign of weakness. Asking for help is a strength. It is a sign that you are taking care of your own needs.
Sit down and create a list of people who can help you feel less pressured. Problem-solving gives you control of the situation; it allows you to create your own positive
environment amid the stress of everyday chaos. Problem-solving is another technique that moves people into action. It gives control, versus staying stuck and complaining about
the same old things.

Gear-Shifting Action Steps
1. Write the name of a negative person who brings you down. Problem-solve a plan to protect yourself.

2. Who is a cheerleader in your life? What does this person do to encourage you?

3.  Who are you a cheerleader for? How do you encourage this person to be the best he or she can be?

4. On the left side of a paper, make a list of the situations that troubled you last year. On the right side, list the effects of each situation. Hopefully the items on the
right side won’t seem so important.

What worried me one year ago?
What are the consequences?
At work?
At home?
With relationships?

Now make a list of the troubles you’re facing today.
Visualize how they will turn out one year from now.
What worries me today?
What will be the consequences?
At work?
At home?
With relationships?

Want to 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 www.JoyceWeiss.com to sign up for your own FREE video series on Resolving Conflict in the Workplace and Communicate with Impact Weekly.

Was this Helpful?

Please send me any comments that you may have for this article. Hit the link at the end of this post to share your ideas or questions. 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.

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 get a better night’s sleep!

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

P.S. Click here to order your own copy of Take the Ride of Your Life.  It is an easy summer read to help you Shift Gears for More Balance, Growth and Joy.

 

Contact Joyce

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