Stomp Out Your Stress - Kick Conflict to the Curb - Page 102 of 111

December 11, 2011 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

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

December 5, 2011 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

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.

November 21, 2011 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

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!”

November 11, 2011 By Joyce Weiss 4 Comments

Do You Want to Turn Negative Situations Around to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace?

If you answered, “yes,” then this article is for you.

When a conflict in the workplace occurs, many people believe they can’t say or do anything to fix it. Whatever happens is always the other person’s problem (or fault), and if they just lay low they can escape any repercussions.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Everyone in the organization can and should take ownership of situations – not just the managers or leaders. Turning a blind eye to things or hoping for situations to resolve on their own will only lead to frustration. Here’s how to handle both internal and external negative situations and turn them around to reduce conflict in the workplace.

Internal Situation

An internal situation could be a co-worker who is continually negative and always dragging the team down. Or it could be someone who is lazy and not pulling his or her weight with the team. Unfortunately, most people think dealing with such internal situations is the manager’s job only. But in fact, anyone can take steps to address such issues.

Simply saying something like, “I know things are tight here right now. That’s why we all have to pull together and stay focused,” can help diffuse someone’s negativity. Granted, you can’t expect to step in and be the super-hero who saves the company from negative people, but you can have courage to step up and state the facts in a Direct with Respect® way.

Some people are so used to negative people or a destructive culture that they don’t want to risk turning negativity around. But it’s a risk you have to take. If you don’t – if you chicken out – you’ll pay the price later.

External Situations

The customer receives the wrong product…the client’s project is behind schedule and over budget…the local newspaper has printed some less-than-flattering information about your company. These are all examples of negative external situation.

During such times, it’s easy for people to play the “blame game.” They waste so much time finger-pointing and trying to discover the cause of the problem that they forget the real task at hand – to turn things around.

Whatever happened has happened. You can’t go back in time and change things. So stop focusing on the past. Now is when you – even if you’re not the leader – need to step up, take ownership, and decide to fix the situation – or at least get the company headed in the right direction. So what if it’s not your job. You’re a part of the team, which means you have a stake in the outcome. Therefore, do something now.

Small Steps Yield Big Results

In the end, whether the situation taking place is internal or external, you must have the courage to take action. You can’t wait for someone else to always take the lead. So commit to a decision and an action plan. Stay accountable for delivering against or acting upon that plan. And then focus on doing what’s best for the team – that’s the only way you’ll achieve the results you want.

Check out this article on Reducing Stress 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.

Until Next Time…This is Joyce Weiss…and remember,

“You Get What You Tolerate!”

October 8, 2011 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

A Great Article on Steve Jobs

There have been so many incredible tweets and blog posts about Steve Jobs.
His legacy is huge and I hope people learn more about this incredible person.

Check out the article below which is one of the best ones that I have seen.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/10/05/apple-co-founder-steve-jobs-dies/

Even though most of us have never met Steve Jobs, he is one person we will all miss.
I think of him each time I use my iphone or ipad.

Until Next Time…

Joyce Weiss, M.A., CSP
Conflict in the Workplace Consultant and Accountability Coach

Remember, You Get What You Tolerate