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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Add 26 Days to Your Year:  Reduce Conflict in the Workplace

Reducing conflict in the workplace can add productive hours to your day.

“If only I had more hours in the day.” How many times have you uttered those words?
If you’re like most people, you either think it or say it daily.  The good news is that we all have more time accessible to us.  The bad news is that we often let others steal it from us.

Consider these statistics: International Communications Research in New York surveyed over 1,000 people on how many minutes per day they are interrupted by things that they don’t want to do (not including email).  Over 42 percent of those surveyed admit that they spend 100 minutes or more every day on interruptions.

This breaks down to the following:

100 minutes (1-2/3 hours) per day
11-2/3 hours per week
26 days per year
5 weeks of vacation

Surprising, isn’t it?  While you can’t make up for lost time, you can have more time to do what you want to do – starting today! The secret is to use Be Direct with Respect® principles.

Here’s how:

Be Direct with Respect Strategy #1 to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace conflict in the workplace

When someone asks, “Can I have five minutes of your time?” the natural response is to say, “Sure,” even though you really don’t have five minutes.  And you know those five minutes will grow into 15, 20, or even 30 minutes.

A better response is, “Sure, I’d love to help you.   Let me call you when I’m done with this project;  we can talk then.” You are still engaging the person, but you’re doing it on your terms and your timeline, not theirs.

Be Direct with Respect Strategy #2 to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace conflict in the workplace

When someone tries to start a friendly conversation with you or engage in small talk and you don’t have the time, the usual response is to stop what you’re doing and talk.  After all, you don’t want to be rude.

A better response is, “I’d love to hear more about your grandkids (or your new project, the new clients, etc.).
Right now I have a meeting (or a deadline to meet, a report to finish, a doctor’s appointment, etc.). Let’s talk about this later today when I’m available.” Again, it’s just a matter of redirecting the person to your timeline.

Be Direct with Respect Strategy #3 to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace

What can you do when you are in a planned one-hour meeting with someone, the hour is almost up, and the other person shows no intention of leaving or ending the conversation? Do you let the meeting run over, and disrupt your entire day’s schedule?

A better approach is, “Our time is just about up. Why don’t we use the remaining few minutes to decide when we’ll meet again to complete this discussion?” At that point, the person may suddenly sum up all the key points. Then if additional time is needed,  you’re doing it according to your schedule.

Take Back Your Time to Reduce Conflict in the Workplace

Being Direct with Respect is a skill that enables you to stop interruptions at work or home to accomplish necessary tasks.  It’s an art to tell others that you can’t take care of their needs immediately without sounding like a selfish person. When you’re Direct with Respect, you can do what you need and want to do and get the respect from others at the same time.

By developing these three Direct with Respect strategies, you can add 26 days to your year!

Read More to discover how to reduce conflict in the workplace.  We can work together to help YOU become a master communicator.

I want to hear from you

Add a comment to my blog on what is and what is not working when you attempt to set boundaries with others.  You will receive a response from me because I enjoy connecting with my readers! 🙂  You are always welcome to send me a private email with concerns that you are experiencing at work.

Please share this and any article that speaks to you or your company.

Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts. Help us help them reduce conflict in the workplace, improve leadership skills and enhance their quality of life.

Learn how I can leverage my 30+ years of communication, leadership consulting and coaching experience to help your organization reduce conflict in the workplace HERE.

This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

 

 

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Powerful Quote on Confronting Problems

Joyce Weiss | Communication Strategist | Career Coach | Favorite Quote

#favoritequote
#WilliamHalsey’sQuote

I live by the sentiments of this quote.  Life is actually easier when we get things off our chest.  I also know that many people find it hard to have those tough conversations at home or work.  Share if you agree.

Joyce Weiss | Communication Strategist | Career Coach | assessment

I’m here for my loyal readers to share easy strategies for resolving conflicts in their life.  Find out how your communication skills impact your work by taking the FREE Communication Skills Assessment.

You will receive immediate feedback from me.  You can send the link to as many people as you want.

Until next time,
Joyce Weiss

 

 

 

 

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What do You do to Engage Employees?

What do you do to engage employees?
What do you do immediately to engage new employees?  These are two questions that I will be asking participants for my next Team Building Training.  Someone in the audience usually gives a sarcastic answer – keep negative team members away from new hires so they are not influenced by these toxic people.  There’s a lot of truth to this statement!

The ideas below were given to me by a group of HR professionals.  I look forward to hearing what you do to engage employees.

Engage Employees Strategy #1:  Make Them Feel Welcome Immediately engaged employees

  • Organize a staff lunch on the first day to greet new team members
  • Ask the team to describe how departments interact with each other
  • Meet with the new hires to assess their training goals and needs

Engage Employees Strategy #2:  Remove New Job Jitters

  • Provide a mentor for the new hire to job shadow
  • Invite new employees to attend meetings in all departments to make their roles clear
  • New employees will meet with mentors daily for at least a week to answer questions
  • Communicate clear written expectations and consequences to remove confusion

Let’s get Real on How to Engage Employees!team building lessons, engaged employees

I realize that some of you may be thinking that your company doesn’t have the time to do all of the strategies above to engage employees.  All I ask is for you to take a look at your turnover.  If it’s low you are probably using some of these ideas.  If the revolving door syndrome is apparent, it may be time to implement these techniques.  Remember – these are being used in the best and brightest place to work to engage employees.

Find more ideas on how to engage employees in our Team Building Knowledge Base.

I want to hear from you

Add comments to the blog on what is and what is not working when you create initiatives on how to engage employees.  You will receive a response from me because I enjoy connecting with my loyal readers! 🙂  You are always welcome to send me a private email with concerns that you are experiencing at work.

Please share this and any article that speaks to you or your company.  Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts. Help us help them reduce conflict and improve leadership skills and quality of life.

This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

Do you want to discover how Joyce can help you improve your organization’s communication?
Visit our team building services page to remove barriers, reduce stress and engage employees.

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

 

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Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication in the Workplace

How to improve communication is always a topic that my clients want me to cover in training or coaching projects.
Here are 3 questions to get us started:

  1.  Have you ever hired a loser?
  2. What did you learn from this experience?
  3. What are your favorite interview questions?

The answers to the questions above were discussed in my last group coaching training with Department Managers and Leaders.  This article will cover all 3 questions.  I look forward to hearing about your own best practices that work for your company.

Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication #1:  Know the Cost of a Bad Hire improve communication

  • Interview time
  • Reference checking time
  • Manager training time
  • Potential customer problems

The important thing is to realize the cost of a bad hire.  This happens to all of us at times.  We were caught off guard because the person came so highly recommended or you may have needed a body immediately because of a timely project and the person in charge just quit.

Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication #2:  Learn From the Experience improve communication

Participants in the training shared the following mistakes and what they learned:

  • To evaluate the candidate even if he or she is a close friend
  • To put your ego aside and don’t hire a candidate just because he or she is like you
  • To look at both the personality and skill set of the candidate
  • To make sure that the hiring manager has enough information about the job

I can see many of you shake your heads right now, because you may have made the same mistakes.

An HR Professional told us that he hired someone because he was so impressed with the resume and missed obvious flaws in the candidate’s personality.  We can teach skills, it’s a challenge to show someone how to be a good team player.

Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication #3:  Use Creative Interview Questions

  • Describe a typical workday at your previous/current job.
    This is the time when you can hear if there’s a lot of blame or negativity.
  • Tell me about the best boss that you ever had.
    You can see if there’s leadership potential.
  • How would your coworkers describe you?
    Go deep here.  Ask the candidate for specific examples when he or she tells you about the positive qualities.
  • Did you ever have to deal with a coworker who didn’t pull his or her weight?
    This question may uncover how the candidate handles conflict.

Share these 3 hiring strategies to improve communication with your team to discuss new ways to make the hiring process as productive as possible.  Stay tuned for future articles that contain information about interviewing strategies, orientation options, and performance appraisals.

I want to hear from you!
Send me your biggest mistake in hiring or interviewing candidates.  Let us know your best hiring practices. You can respond directly to the blog or send me an email HERE.  

 

This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

 

Remember…You Get What You Tolerate!

P.S.  Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Team Building Strategies Knowledge Base

 

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A Motivational Quote: Advice From the Sea

I was snorkeling with my family over the holidays and saw the motivational quote below on a tree near the beach.  Those of you who know me or my work will see that the last statement is the one that caught my attention-Make Waves!

motivational quote| Joyce Weiss|Communication Strategist | Coach

This motivational quote is very powerful.  We make waves when we feel confident and use strategies to have tough conversations will almost anyone.  It takes courage and it’s always a risk to tell others what they need to hear and not necessarily want to hear.  🙂

Start making your conversation safe by using – I don’t want/I do want.  For example:  “I don’t want to cause stress between us.  I do want to discuss the importance of boundaries in our relationship.”  This sets the stage and hopefully, the conversation will be productive.  This is a great way to start off many of our difficult conversations.

Read more motivational quotes and articles on effective communication.

I want to hear from you

Send me your questions or comments on what is and what is not working when you have tough conversations.
You will receive a response from me because I enjoy connecting with my loyal readers! 🙂

Please share this and any article that speaks to you or your company.

Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts. Help us help them reduce conflict and improve leadership skills and quality of life.

Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Knowledge Base Page Conflict in the Workplace.

 

This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

Contact Joyce

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