A friend of mine sent me a quote that made an impact on both my personal and  professional goals.  I hope that it helps you achieve your goals when you want to:

• improve your communication skills
• reduce conflict in the workplace or home
• modify your exercise, eating or sleeping habits

Whatever keeps you from reaching your goals today had better be important – it’s costing you a day of your life!

What about your communication goals?
Have you kept silent with someone at work or home because he or she may get mad at you?  If so, what is this costing you?  Do you lose sleep over this or feel like you will erupt like a volcano?  John Lennon said, “Being honest might not get you a lot of friends, but it will always get you the right ones.”   I have learned the importance of being honest and plan out communication strategies before I actually have tough conversations.  I do get a better night’s sleep because I was honest and shared my thoughts in a constructive way.  It is not about winning or losing…it is about expressing yourself directly and respectfully.  Things don’t always work out, but at least the other person knows where I stand and I feel good that we had this tough conversation.  

I will send you a FREE booklet on Powerful Actions to Achieve Your Personal and Professional Goals when you share your favorite quote on this post. 

Click here to watch a short video on how you can improve your communications skills.

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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!

Lately 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