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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5 Ways to Share Constructive Feedback Successfully

 

conflict 2 ppl shouting holding targetAre there team issues that need to be resolved?

Hopefully your team doesn’t resolve conflict in the workplace like these 2 people in the photo!

Remember, I encourage and support people to have tough conversations so they sleep better at night.
One of the ways I do this is by sharing the tips that are in this blog post.
If you want more information on any of these tips feel free to ask in the comment section below
or email me at Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com

When you’re communicating with others in a stressful setting, focus on these 5 tips:

1.  All criticism is valid from the critic’s perspective.  Ask yourself what that person sees that you many not.

2.  Disregard the judgmental aspects of a criticism and address what can be beneficial to you.

3.  Keep your mind open to all viewpoints.

4.  Adopt an attitude that says, “I want to know if I have blind spots that I may not see about myself.”

5.  Avoid taking a defensive position when criticism is leveled at you.

 Click here to watch my short video on “Dealing with Negativity in the Workplace”

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 on Conflict in the Workplace

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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Questions to Encourage Cooperation and Respect in the Workplace

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get along with a certain co-worker which creates a lot of conflict in the workplace. Maybe your personalities are just too different, or perhaps your work processes and preferences conflict. Despite this fact, you still have to work together – sometimes very closely – so you need to establish a relationship of cooperation and respect.
But cooperation and respect can be hard to maintain. The key is to get the other person to agree on this one working relationship goal, and then to work together (rather than singularly) to keep the cooperation and respect strong. Therefore, meet with the co-worker who is troubling you and together answer these seven questions. Only with this insight can you move forward toward productive results.

1.    What is our main challenge?
You need to pinpoint what specifically keeps you from having a working relationship based on cooperation and respect. Does it have to do with work styles, personalities, ethnicity/cultural differences, etc.? You need to know what you have to overcome before you can actually do it.

2.    How are we different?
Suppose that you figure out that your conflicting work styles cause the friction. The next step is to identify specifically how your work styles are different. For example, maybe you discover that while you prefer to have e-mail communications, your co-worker finds e-mail cold and impersonal and wants face-to-face meetings. At this point remember not to blame each other for the difference or defend yourself. You want to find how to capitalize on your differences.

3.    How are we the same?
Despite your differences, you likely have a few similarities. In fact, at one point in your history together, you probably did one thing – even one small project – together well. What worked then? The key is for you to build off your sameness to establish cooperation and respect.

4.    What opportunities are within our reach?
In other words, if we work together what can we accomplish together? This question gets you to think positively about the other person so you can have the motivation to work together in a way that fosters cooperation and respect.

5.    How can others in the department or company help us?
Remember that you’re not alone. Others in your department or company want you to develop mutual cooperation and respect. Identify who those people are and get their input.

6.    How can we communicate with each other better?
In order to work on your relationship, try spending some time together. This does not mean hanging out together on weekends. It simply means for you to go to lunch together once per week or agree to meet for 20 minutes every Monday to go over weekly goals. Do something to get the dialog started.

7.    How can we amaze ourselves?
Determine what would be an amazing experience for the two of you working together. Describe it in great detail. Use that vision to guide your future working efforts. Before you know it, you’ll have a solid base of cooperation and respect to build from.

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.

Until next time…Remember, You Get What You Tolerate!
Joyce Weiss, M.A., CSP
Conflict Resolution Consultant and Accountability Coach

P.S.  Sign up for your own FREE video series – “20 Tips to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace”  HERE

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Use Be Direct with Respect® to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace

Be Direct with Respect® Strategies

You can now go to the next level in your career development after reading this article by taking Joyce’s newest on line course which includes a coaching session on the phone.  You have the opportunity to work with Joyce on an issue that you learned about yourself during the course. Look for details about this exciting offer below the article.

Strategy 1: Eliminate Ambiguity

By being Direct With Respect®, you’ll always begin with positive statements and get right to the point. If your conversation is to point out and correct negative behaviors, describe the person’s actions, not their personality. Use language that makes an impact, yet decreases defensiveness. One good way to do this is by using “I” statements rather than “you” statements. Also, use factual descriptions instead of judgments or exaggerations.

Strategy 2: Gain the ability to be direct and truthful

When should you be direct and speak up? As soon as you reasonably can. If you wait too long, you may forget what you needed to say, which can leave a nasty residue of resentment that can explode at the wrong time ­ or at the wrong person. While it’s difficult to know precisely when to speak up, it’s equally challenging to know when to let something drop. To gain perspective, imagine how important the incident will be in six months. If you think it will still be important, then say something immediately. If it would sound a little silly in six months, then let it drop.

Remember, though, telling the truth isn’t a license to dump your negative feelings on others.

Strategy 3: Develop positive self-talk strategies that propel your career

Once you realize you’re giving negative messages, make a conscious effort to stop and say something positive instead. Stop focusing on what you feel you don’t do well and congratulate yourself for all your strong points. Also, strive to seek out other positive people so you can support each other. Challenge yourself to break away from negative people who are only holding you down. The more positive you are, the more confident you’ll be at being Direct with Respect®. In return, others will feel more confident about your abilities, thus leading to more future success.

Be Direct with Respect® is a new way of thinking and communicating for those who are used to holding things inside. Once you implement Be Direct with Respect®, you’ll find that being direct and truthful will make you self-confident and earn you the respect you deserve. Even more important, as the concept of Be Direct with Respect® takes hold in your company, your employees will communicate better and build stronger relationships with co-workers and customers alike. Before you know it, morale will be up, profits will soar, and your company will be ready to make its mark on the business world.

Check out how you can go deeper and learn more ideas on how you can communicate with impact with
Joyce’s On Demand Course.
Like my client  Lori did after she took the course.

“Things are really going well here since people started taking the Be Direct with Respect®:  Communicate with Impact Course.
We continue to see great progress within our management team which is beginning to flow down to the staff.  I had a meeting with one of my managers this moring and she commented again on your program and how well it impacted her.”
Lori Verbrugge, Human Resource Director, Midwest Financial Credit Union

Click the link below so can get ready for radical communication improvement!
Be Direct with Respect®:  Communicate with Impact On Demand Course

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.

Until our next visit, Remember…
You Get What You Tolerate!

Joyce Weiss, M.A., CSP
Conflict Resolution Consultant & Accountability Coach

Contact Joyce

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