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 Team Building Tips to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace

Will teamwork bring in more clients and keep the ones you’ve got? Yes!

People who work together may develop the dreaded “Who cares?” disease. Highly infectious, it slowly erodes all the good efforts that a few excellent workers produce.

However, it’s reversible if you take immediate action. Start with these 10 tips:

1. FIND OR CREATE A TEAM LEADER

Great teams don’t just happen. They are carefully and purposefully built by a team leader. Get someone to take charge – whether it’s the manager or anyone interested in group leadership.

2. DEVELOP GOOD COMMUNICATION

Now that the team leader is in place, call the team together. Focus on how individuals can improve skills and finances and help the company grow ­ only possible by working together.

3. FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR COMPANY NEEDS TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Every winning business starts out with a purposeful, short-term and long-range plan. Decide what the company goals are for the next day, week, month, and future.

4. ASSESS THE STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES AND NEEDS OF THE TEAM

When you know who is good at what, it’ll be easy to assign tasks to team members in order to reach the goals. Assign accordingly!

5. AGREE ON TEAM RULES

Successful teams have written rules which they develop themselves. Start with these helpful ones: Tell a person when you don’t agree, don’t talk about people behind their backs, and never be late for trivial reasons. Your team will get the idea after a few examples.

If you want to find out how your team can improve it’s working condition, check out Joyce’s consulting services.  Joyce can come to your workplace for a customized program.  Visit the link below to find out how you can reduce
conflict in the workplace!
You will also hear a podcast to give you more ideas to use with your team.

“Our team was tremendously impacted by the Team Building Program that Joyce Weiss presented to our office. There were several people on our team who did everything possible to avoid one another. During the sessions Joyce helped everyone see how the negative energy between those two individuals affected the entire office. Everyone was given the opportunity to express their concern – which really helped. The best part of the training was when Joyce taught us how to speak directly to each other in a respectful way. By the end of the workshop there was a tremendous difference in our team. The stress level of everyone dissolved. Several weeks went by and I noticed the two people that had the main issue with one another were having a conversation with each other. I called Joyce immediately to let her know how she really left a positive impact on our office. Thank you Joyce!” –

Cpl Steve A. Richardson, Jr, Regional Contracting Office. Marine Forces Reserve

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 & Accountability Coach

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Do You Want to Have Unique Gifts or Incentives For Your Clients or Loved Ones?

Many of you know that I have authored 2 life coaching books, Take the Ride of Your Life! and Full Speed Ahead: Become Driven by Change.

I’m offering my loyal readers a VIP Special Package that you can use for gifts or for your own professional and personal development…especially during these stressful times.

You will receive conflict resolution secrets that I share with participants in my workshops which are in both books.Dare to turn conflict in the workplace or home into creativity and bigger profits.

You can get the VIP special package for only $45.00. It is regularly over $65.00, but because you are my loyal readers you’ll get it for $45.00 during this month only.

Are you…
Going in circles?
Struggling up hill?
Wobbling out of balance?

Live your life to the fullest, no matter what the terrain! Do you remember learning how to ride a bike? In Take the Ride of Your Life!, you will use your bike-lesson memories to energize yourself and your journey. Why a bike?Because that’s where most of us learn our first lessons about taking off into the new and unknown and having the courage to do it. If you remember the thrill of the wind in your face, here it is again in this extraordinary book. Rich in exciting insights, easy “gear-shifting” action steps, and incredible bike-lesson stories from all walks of life, this book is your passport to the life you’ve been waiting for.

Take the Ride of Your Life!

Will help you:

  • Reduce stress and conflict
  • Gain control in your life with bullies and tough conversations
  • Use stress relief exercises

Check out how satisfied readers feel about this fast reading book.

“The idea of looking back to your first bike lesson to find your essential strength in life is a tremendous concept.  And it works! By helping me remember and bring my bike story to life in this book, Joyce helped me recognize new sources of energy and vitality in myself and to keep this process going.  This is essential to me as an artist.”
Monte Nagler, fine arts photographer

“Joyce Weiss has an amazing ability to help people see how simple it can be to “shift gears,” to make those small changes that can lead to such dramatic and overwhelmingly positive improvements, both at work and in their personal lives.”
Bob Danzig, author, speaker, professor and former Nationwide CEO of Hearst Newspapers

“Terrific stuff, Joyce!  You’re an endless source of practical ideas and great inspirations for getting everyone involved in turning around potentially negative situations.  The bicycle analogy is something we can all relate to and is a truly inspirational message.”
Bill Zehnder, President, Bavarian Inn Restaurant

Full Speed Ahead: Become Driven by Change
A book that helps readers achieve their personal and professional best.

Put your life into overdrive!
Are things around you changing faster than you can cope?
Instead of chugging along, are you stuck in neutral?
Have fear, worry, failure and adversity stolen your zest for living?
You needn’t feel defeated anymore.
This book can put you back in the drivers seat!

By reading Full Speed Ahead you will gain the following benefits:

  • 5 strategies to help you deal with life’s stresses
  • Great skills to improve your communication
  • How to appreciate diversity and watch your creativity soar
  • How to add humor and fun to your life
  • 3 stages of risk-taking to make intelligent choices

Each chapter is followed by a worksheet and an action plan to help you put these principles into action NOW in your professional or personal life.
Achieving your personal best has never been easier or more fun.

“A straightforward, engaging and down-to-earth book for those desiring improvement in the quality and direction of their lives.”
Anthony Robbins, Author, Awaken the Giant Within, and Unlimited Power

Now here is the good news on how you can receive this package for a real savings!

If you purchased both of these books on my website they retail for $50.00 (which includes shipping and handling and tax).

I’m offering my loyal readers this VIP Special Package:
An autographed copy of both Take the Ride of Your Life! and Full Speed Ahead

Plus:
3 personal growth journals

  • 19 Secrets for Successfully Navigating Life’s Potholes, Ruts & Obstacles
  • 19 Surefire Ways to Bring More Joy & Harmony into Your Life
  • 19 Powerful Actions to Achieve Your Personal & Professional Goals

Plus:
A CD with the Take the Ride of Your Life Song which will motivate and energize your day.

You can have all 6 products for only $45.00.  This includes everything from shipping and handling and tax!

If you want the VIP special package that includes all 6 products, please email me at Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com or call me at 800.713.1926.
Please give me the names of who you want me to autograph the books to for their special gifts.

If you want to purchase several packages I will give you a special rate – you must call or email for the special bulk rate.

These books will help you or anyone that you know deal with stress and conflict by giving solutions and ideas that you can use immediately!

Remember to email me at Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com, call: 800.713.1926 to receive the VIP Special immediately!

 P.S. Invest in the special today and receive FREE an extra copy of Full Speed Ahead which is a $16.95 value. You can give the extra copy to a friend or relative and keep the package for yourself.

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Do You Want to Improve Team Morale by Reducing Conflict in the Workplace?

Many of my clients experience communication gaps because they are not in the same locations and they work on their own special projects.

Conflict in the workplace exists because communication loops are not completed and expectations are not expressed. This blog post will cover 2 tools that you may have read in my other posts. I feel that it is worth reviewing Be Direct with Respect® and Verbal Aikido. These are tools that can be used daily to reduce conflict in your workplace.

I recently had the privilege of working with the  Ely District Bureau of Land Management in Ely Nevada. There were Archeologists, Biologists,  Special Legislation Program Managers, Geologists, and other BLM specialists who attended the Team Building Program.

This impressive group is responsible for 11 1/2 million acres in the areas of fire, fuel control, support services, accounting, contracting, maintenance of roads, recreation sites, fences, grazing, wild horses plus so many other issues concerning requests and actions on public land.  This group feels passionate about what they do for the public and their enthusiasm is something that I don’t get a chance to see very often.

I hope that you enjoy reading the tips that we covered during the training. They will improve communication skills to reduce conflict in your workplace. They are ideas that you can use immediately.

1. The Power Talk Formula

This tool is perfect to use with colleagues, managers, the public or even your family.

I am ______________________your emotional response

When_____________________non judgmental

Because___________________how it effects you

“I am frustrated when I continuously repeat my concerns about the team gossip because this negativity is decreasing the morale for all of us.”

“I am thrilled when I see the team working on completing the communication loop because this will help remove some of the our daily stress.”

Remember NOT to use the words “you,” “but” or “should”.  These words make others feel defensive.  If someone becomes defensive it could be a signal that your communication caused the other person to push back.

Pay attention to your tone of voice and the words that you use.

Check out this blog post to receive more information on The Power Talk Formula

2. Verbal Aikido

Remember that the person who pulls back is the stronger one in the conversation.  Verbal Aikido helps you diplomatically deal with difficult people and bullies.

Here are some tips to use the next time someone pushes you:

  • Take a deep breath
  • Do your best to remind yourself not to push back
  • Agree with the person by saying something like,

“I agree that I did not get back to you immediately.

Let’s take care of this right now while we have each other on the phone.”

This example does not contain any excuses which causes others to push us even more.  We are all tired of excuses.

  • Ask a question when someone says, “You are always so negative.”  Your response could be, “Always?” or “Specifically tell me when I was negative.”  Be prepared to hear the feedback and not push back by getting defensive.

I know about this first hand when an audience gives constructive feedback. I do my best to listen openly because those are times when I learn about myself.

Check out this article to find more ideas on verbal aikido

Martin Luther King Jr said,

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Below is a photo of Joyce with Special Legislation Management and Program Analyst Elena Montenegro-Long, Special Legislation Program Manager Carol Bass, Archaeologist Leslie Riley, and  Biologist Marian Lichtler.

Joyce spending dinner with Ely District BLM

Check out these 2 videos from Elena Montenegro-Long and Leslie Riley on what they learned from the Team Building Program:

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,

This is Joyce Weiss

and remember,

“You get what you tolerate!”

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Do You Want to Develop Respect in the Workplace?

Have you experienced both strong and weak team leaders?
How can you develop into a more effective leader or team member?
Do you want to bring confidence back to your team?

If so…read on!

This blog post will help reduce conflict in the w0rkplace.  You will find tips on how to make leaders strong and effective.
You will also read a survey on how employer confidence is increasing.

Strong leaders get great results when they:

  • Live in the field
  • Set the tone for the team
  • First feed the troops, then feed the officers
  • Always lead by example
  • Never ask anyone to do something they wouldn’t want to do
  • Share good news with the team as often as possible

Make sure and share these few tips with your team.
My audience participants discuss that they will add the above tips to their leadership skills when they get promoted.
Some of them  don’t see their leaders as part of the team and this is detrimental to team morale.

Check out more ideas on how to reduce stress in the workplace & add respect in this blog post:

https://www.joyceweiss.com/wp/2011/07/12/how-to-increase-respect-in-the-workplace-and-reduce-stress/

The next part of the blog post will help you see how employer confidence is increasing.

Cicero said, ” Where there is life, there is hope.”

Express Professionals in Grand Rapids MI has become a new partner of mine.

I will be sharing surveys and reports that they do so well on trends in the workplace.

Check out this post on how employer confidence is increasing.

Express Hiring Trends Survey Sees Employer Confidence Increasing

Grand Rapids, MI, September, 2011 —Nearly half (42 percent) of company leaders have either recently implemented or plan to implement bringing in new staff (temporary or full-time) in the third quarter, according to a national hiring trends survey conducted by Express Employment Professionals, one of the nation’s largest privately-held staffing companies.

“We’re seeing employers’ confidence levels increase slightly,” said Grand Rapids franchise owner Janis Petrini. “Not only do they plan to hire new employees, but some are also considering reinstating previous pay and/or raises and lifting hiring freezes.”

Express surveyed more than 17,000 current and former clients across the United States and Canada. Survey results of those who responded indicate that 67 percent of companies plan to hire one to three people across all business sectors during the third quarter. Hiring trends in all regions continues to be greatest in administrative and office clerical, with 30 percent of respondents planning new hires, while 26 percent of commercial/light industrial businesses anticipate adding new staff. Additionally, 22 percent of respondents plan to fill positions in “other” sectors which include clinical/healthcare, customer service, food service, general labor, maintenance, medical/dental/nursing, sales and more.

While companies are planning new hires, the current ease of recruiting and filling positions is down, according to the survey. In fact, half of the respondents believe it is “somewhat difficult” to “very difficult” to recruit and fill positions, an increase of six percent compared to the previous quarter. Staffing firms, employee referrals and online job boards remain the top three recruiting resources for companies. When considering new hires, employers are looking closely at credible work history, job experience and specific skills.

“Recruiting is clearly becoming more difficult for company leaders,” said Petrini. “There is a huge volume of talented candidates on the market and it’s a real challenge to find not only the most experienced person, but the best overall fit for the position and the company.”

The Grand Rapids Express Employment Professionals franchise began operation in 1996 and serves the Grand Rapids and surrounding areas with temporary help and direct hire employees in a variety of fields, including warehouse, skilled manufacturing, administrative, and professional.

Worldwide, Express Employment Professionals puts nearly 300,000 people to work each year and has over 550 offices in four countries. Express provides expertise in evaluation hire, temporary staffing, professional search and human resources and works across a wide variety of industries. Sales for the Oklahoma City-based company totaled more than $1.9 billion in 2010.

The Grand Rapids office, located at 333-44th St. SW is currently accepting applications for a variety of positions. For more information, call 616-281-0611 or visit www.expresspros.com.

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I hope that you enjoyed reading this trend on how employer confidence is improving.
Thanks to Janis Petrini – Franchise Owner, Casey Jankoska-Client Relations Manager, and Jocelyn Hodack-Human Resource
Consultant for all the innovative projects that they are doing to help people grow in their careers!

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 in the Workplace Consultant & Accountability Coach

 

 

 

 

 

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Do You Live With or Work with A Generation Y? Understanding Different Generations in the Workplace

If so, this blog post if just for you.
Generation Y was born between 1981-1995.

I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at the Jump Start program for freshmen at Oakland University in Rochester MI.

There were 200 eager freshmen waiting to learn how they can become involved as future leaders during their stay at Oakland University.

Thanks to Chris Jensen (Assistant Director of Leadership and Service) and Meaghan Walter (Graduate Assistant for Leadership Development & First Year Programs) who coordinated & planned the most impressive Jump Start Program.

They made all 200 students feel extremely welcome and important.  The enthusiasm continued throughout the entire day.  It’s a good thing for Vitamin C and caffeine!

Both Chris and Meaghan helped me plan my portion of the program to make sure that it would be a success.
I thank both of them for their important input to help us achieve a most successful project together.

Joyce with Meaghan Walter and Chris Jensen

We started out the session discussing how these young men and women have the world in their hands.
Each one can make a difference due to their desire to share their uniqueness with the world.

The millennial generation…or generation Y has been given many choices.
They want to become active in making the world a better place.

We had a very energetic discussion on the meaning of success.
We discussed that money is good and a hot career is important.
We also discussed that their unique talents will make the true mark in this world.

They all shared their unique skills and talents that they brought to Oakland University.
This was truly book material!

We then discussed the 4 NEW WORK REALITIES which contained information on my experience dealing with conflict in the workplace between employers and employees.
I helped them discover what to expect when they graduate to prepare for their career development.

Work Reality #1:
Generation Y is Both Colliding and Clicking with Gen X, Baby Boomers, & Traditionalists.

Generation Y:  Millennials want to express themselves and their unique gifts.
They are on the move because they see many opportunities that are offered to them.

Other generations watch Gen Y change jobs and see this as a lack of work ethic.
This generation may be finding a better job that fits their skills and talents better.

Each generation has its own positive contributions.
All generations need to be ready to collaborate with each other and discuss challenges openly and respectively.

Here’s a question for you…
How do you think other generations feel about your own generation?

Are these assumptions accurate or generalizations?  The same goes for all generations.

Different equals different.
Different does not equal wrong!

Work Reality # 2:
Commit Fully to Your Education

Commitment …

  • Is a gift that you can give to yourself
  • Empowers you
  • Brings out your very best potential
  • Makes you a more valuable student and future employee

I’ve noticed that people who do whatever it takes to get the job done…

  • Seem to be fulfilled in their life
  • Become experts in their field
  • Understand that “just doing my job” is a sign of mediocrity

I have a question for you…
How are you showing your commitment to be the best at what you do at school or at work?

Work Reality #3:
Constantly Learn

Lifelong learning is the only way to remain competitive.
This relentless drive to acquire new skills & stay informed creates enthusiasm in what you do.

Here is another question for you…
What is the best class that you ever took and why?

The answer may reveal some important information on future training or exploration for you.

Work Reality #4:
Learn From Setbacks and Convert Challenges Into Success

I told the freshmen the following message:

“You won’t always do the right thing.
Maybe you didn’t do well in high school and Oakland University will be your fresh start.
You may get your first C in school or even fail a class.
Do you drop out or start over, learn and improve?

I know what I’m talking about.  Look what I do for a living.
Most people would rather die than give a speech.
Professional speakers face rejection every time they open their mouth.
Some people will not like the speaker’s message, sound of their voice, pattern of their business suit…etc.
I’ve become an expert in helping others turn their challenges into an opportunity due to my own work related challenges.”

Here are two more questions…
What challenge may be stopping you at this moment?
What do you need to do to face the challenge in order to grow?

Failure is never final.
Success does not last forever!

We also discussed multitasking and balancing time between doing homework and having a social life.
Look for these tips from the keynote speech Take the Ride of Your Life in a future blog.

Check out these video testimonials from 3 very bright and positive future leaders at Oakland University.
I enjoyed my time with each and every student and look forward to hearing about their continued success!

Share this blog with your own Gen Y and let me know the result of your communication.
I love staying in touch with my loyal readers!

Was this helpful?

Let us hear your thoughts about your own experiences with different generations.

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.

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Until next time

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