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

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Do You Want to Eliminate Workplace Irritations?

cartoon women boxing in long dressesSuccessful teams know that workplace irritations exist…no matter how perfect the team seems to be!
At times I hear leaders tell me that there is NO stress
at their workplace and everyone gets along  just fine.

Even successful teams need to listen to all team members to insure that they are heard and understood.  There are always issues to discuss since things change constantly.   As long as trust is established, discussing workplace conflicts works like magic.  They can be small such as having everyone come to meetings on time or cleaning up the kitchen.

A colleague of mine, Marilyn Suttle wrote a wonderful book – Who’s Your Gladys?  How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan.

You are in for a GREAT read after you experience Marilyn’s interesting article directly below on Do You Know What’s at the Top of Your Customers’ Irritation Lists?
Enjoy and make sure and check out her website which is at the end of her article.

As part of an experiment, I got out a pad of paper and pen, and walked through each room of my house finding things to add to my irritation list. Anything that bugged me got put on the list. The chipped paint in my dining room, the small rip in the lining of my lamp shade, the disorganized storage area in the basement – no matter how big or small, I wrote it down.

At first, my irritation list was long, and … irritating. Prioritizing and delegation changed all that. After a family meeting, the who, what, and by-when’s were added to the list.  (I admit this idea got a cold reception at first, but my husband and son got on board, adding some of their own irritations to the list and negotiating responsibilities.)
One by one, over the next six months, the house shaped up. As the list grew smaller, my energy and enthusiasm skyrocketed.

Consider what might happen if you were to create a customer irritation list at your place of business. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of your business and lose sight of the irritations that ultimately undermine your success.
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of your business and lose sight of the small things that ultimately undermine your success.

Do you know what’s at the top of your customers irritation lists? Over time, those irritations may be the deciding factor that pushes customers toward your competitor.

Points to help you break through irritations:

  • Be eager to learn what’s on your customers’ irritation lists.
  • (Don’t forget the people inside your company, aka your internal customers. Their irritations ultimately spill over onto your paying customers.)
  • Notice your role in creating the problem or allowing it to continue.
  • For each irritation, brainstorm several ways to handle it and pick the best one.    Divvy up or delegate.

Enjoy the results!

What do you think? What workplace irritations are you committed to eliminating?

2012 Copyright Marilyn Suttle

Marilyn Suttle is the coauthor of Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan. Marilyn travels internationally to deliver service excellence keynotes and workshops. Marilyn inspires her clients to excel by creating strong, productive relationships in every area of life.  She specializes in creating “Suttle Shifts” in the way people think and act to produce massive results. When you need a keynote speaker or success coach, Marilyn can be reached at  (248) 348-1023, marilyn@marilynsuttle.com or visit www.whosyourgladys.com
To access additional free customer service resources – including blog articles and video tips – visit www.whosyourgladys.com

I will be including several guest authors to contribute their articles on my Bold Solutions Blog.
Let me know how you enjoy their words of wisdom.

If you want more information on this subject make sure and check out my post on How to Create Strong Teams.

Let us hear what workshop issues drive you crazy.
Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Until Next Time
This is Joyce Weiss, Conflict Resolution Consultant
and Remember…YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLERATE!

Check out Someecard.com for creative cards.

 

 

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Improve Your Meetings from Boring to Creative!

cartoon concensus boring meeting

Does this cartoon look familiar?  If so, you are NOT alone!
If you want to reduce conflict in the workplace and improve morale please read this blog post. 🙂

Many of my clients tell me that their meetings are long and unproductive.  We conduct a Code of Honor to make rules to change meetings from boring to creative.  I will cover more details on The Code of Honor in a future blog.

Here are 3 Brainstorming Stages to Improve Team Creativity

What are productive steps for a useful brainstorming session?
How can you accomplish what you really want to get done?
Try the following steps:

1. Blue area = IDEAS

  • The sky’s the limit
  • Ideas fall out of the blue
  • Look at the possibilities
  • What’s good about it?
  • Challenge your assumptions

2. Red Area = SELECTION

  • Discuss hurdles
  • How can we make it better?
  • Go back to the blue area

3. Green Area = ACTION PLAN

Was this helpful?
Let us hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Feel free to share these tips with your team – just be sure to give Joyce credit when you share or publish.
Sign up at the RSS feed on the blog site to be included in future blog posts from Joyce on this subject.
For more information, articles and podcasts, visit Joyce’s Website

Until Next Time…This is Joyce Weiss
and Remember…YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLERATE!

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Do you want to be a MASTER Communicator?

use the power talk formular 1

My clients tell me that they really enjoy the Tough Communication     portion of my “Resolving Conflict in the Workplace” program.
This blog post describes a small portion of the training so that you can start improving your communication skills.

Let’s say that you need to have that difficult talk with Bob who is a great person on your team BUT he does not clean up after he uses the kitchen.  The team agreed that everyone was responsible to clean the kitchen.  The team talks about Bob and you want to stop the gossip.

Many times people don’t know how to have these “talks” and they use sarcasm like, “You are really a slob and we are sick of it.”  Obviously you won’t get very far with this comment and Bob will become defensive.  So what can you do?

The answer…Use The Power Talk Formula described in the photo.

Here is a possible response:  Bob, “I am frustrated when I come into the kitchen and see dirty dishes because everyone on the team agreed to clean up after themselves.”  Of course Bob can still get defensive.  If he does you can continue in a calm tone to make sure he really understands how this is about the team’s agreement to keep the kitchen clean and not about him.  This formula works like a charm after you practice, practice, and practice.

It took me a long time to get comfortable with this formula and it is a now a natural skill.  Remember, I said that it took me a long time to learn the skill.  I suggest that you practice this with your family.  You may thank me after you get some great results and PLEASE share your successes with me in the comment section below.

Receive your own poster with 20 tips to become a MASTER communicator.
Sign up for the FREE Video Series “20 Tips to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace” at my website.
You will receive your FREE poster immediately!

Was this helpful?
Feel free to share this blog post and the videos with your team!  Please acknowledge that the information came from Joyce Weiss’s blog.
Share your Tough Communication successes in the comment section below.

Until next time…This is Joyce Weiss
and Remember…YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLERATE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fast Help for a Tense Workplace

20actionstepsposterEver wish you knew just the right thing to say or do in a sticky situation at work?
Here’s a cheat-sheet of best conflict reduction ideas all on a poster that you can hang on your wall of your office or cube!

These 20 action steps are the key for you to become a master communicator at work and home.

To expand on each idea, watch my FREE video series, “20 Tips to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace.”

You’ll get a full size download of the poster when you subscribe to the video series here: https://www.joyceweiss.com

The poster and videos work great together to help you improve morale and open up communication on your team, so be sure to share!

Here are a couple of my favorite tips:

 “Ask a positive question to the negative person.
‘What is something good that happened to you today?’

This will force the negative person to say a positive response.” (It is fun to see this develop! ?)

“Set up a mentor program where all generations help each other using their unique talents, skills and perspectives.”

P.S.

Need more help with communication at work? Learn how to protect your time and bring harmony to your workplace with my On-Demand eCourse, “Communicate with Impact.” Go here to learn more:
https://joyceweiss.com/wp/communicate-with-impact-4-week-video-course

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss

And Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate”

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Help All of Your Workers Become As Creative as “Dwight”

blog dwight holding signDo your team members sit silently in the corner like Stanley on “The Office”?

Help them become as enthused as Dwight (but hopefully half as annoying)!

Do you want your team members to open up?

If you want a truthful exchange of ideas, create this environment by using these guidelines:

• Make only positive statements.
• Identify what has worked in the past
• Listen to a variety of perspectives from other departments.
• Do something totally new.
• Use a fresh, child-like approach.
• Add humor.
• Get excited about the ideas.

Do you want more tips to improve morale at work?
Check out this short video on “Improving Morale to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace.”

Was this helpful?
Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Feel free to share these tips with your team – just be sure to give Joyce credit when you share or publish.
Sign up at the RSS feed on the blog site to be included in future blog posts from Joyce on this subject.
For more information, articles and podcasts, visit Joyce’s Website

Contact Joyce

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