In This Issue

Highlight Your 2008 Successes!

Dealing with Difficult People

Teach Your Employees Communication Basics

Highlight
Your 2008 Successes!

Appreciate Your Past Accomplishments - Create a Great New Year!

These first few months of the year are filled with good wishes.  We "wish" ourselves and each other the best of the New Year, but we can improve on just wishing. We can actively create it to become our best year in a long time. 

One way we can accelerate our New Year's success is to tap into the powerful theory of "Appreciative Inquiry" (or AI as it is often called). A short explanation of this theory is that "you get MORE of whatever you PAY ATTENTION TO."  Through reflecting on what has proven to be effective and successful in your life and work, you build on the best parts to create more of what you most value.

Are you ready to give yourself a personalized gift and start the New Year from a powerful stance?  Then take time to pave the way to a successful future by appreciating your past accomplishments.

Complete the exercise below and you will begin the process of actively creating your successes in the New Year.

Fill in your own unique responses to the following questions, inspired by a new book, Appreciative Coaching - A Positive Process for Change by authors Sara Orem, Jacqueline Binkert, Ann Clancy (Publisher: Jossey-Bass Business and Management 2007):

1.     Describe your three greatest accomplishments in your life/work from 2008:

2.     What about each of these accomplishments was most valuable to you? 

3.     How was your life enhanced as a result of these accomplishments?   

4.     How can you apply what you gained and/or learned from these accomplishments to create more of what you value in the New Year?

5.     From your answers to the previous question, what specifically are you committed to take action on, and by when?

Now, take a peek into your increasingly bright future. Imagine yourself one year from now, and consider these questions:

1.     Describe your three greatest accomplishments in your life/work from 2009 in SPECIFIC DETAILS (what, where, when):   

2.     How did each of these accomplishments contribute to increasing your life/work success? 

Throughout the months ahead, remember to focus on what is meaningful to you to create more of it in your life. Here's to Discovering, Dreaming and Designing your great New Year!

Copyright protected worldwide. Gayla Doucet - People Powered Solutions LLC. - The TTI Distributors' Coach

The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.
- Joseph Priestley

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical, it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
- Donald Rumsfeld

Welcome to our monthly newsletter, "Turrisi Insights", which has been developed as informative reading material for business leaders and managers.

We hope you will find this newsletter to be interesting and valuable to your business.

Dealing with Difficult People

We have all heard incredible tales from time to time of having to deal with difficult people in the workplace. As we listen to the antics of some, we also find that we may have a story or two to tell of our own challenging experience or difficult conversation with a seemingly unfair colleague.  

How many times have we been disappointed or aggravated by a difficult colleague? Although the stories may vary, all will tell the tale of an office mate or a manager who just doesn't "get it" or "play well with others." More often than not, when challenged or disappointed by those we spend most of our waking hours with - we often choose to retreat rather than address the unprofessional behavior. And although it is best to take the "high road", there are consequences to doing nothing at all.

Ironically, employees and managers (at all levels) will make deadlines, take on additional responsibilities and jump into any project as a great leader and team player. But when it comes to confronting a difficult employee or manager, they will either ignore the situation completely or more dangerous, go behind the scenes and broadcast the shortcomings of another individual and their own personal misgivings about them in hopes that someone will somehow catch wind and solve the problem and/or situation. 

Unfortunately, this approach usually backfires and leaves the "informant" with a poor reputation. It takes an incredible amount of patience when confronting any person, or situation for that matter, that makes us feel uncomfortable. Many times we have heard the expression "use a cool head" when voicing dissatisfaction or displeasure with another person.

But many of us do not take this advice. Emotion will push people to react too quickly and not take the time to sort through what is really bothering them most. The key to effective communication is timing. How many times have we all said after a heated exchange, "I should have said this or that?" When we take the time to analyze the problem, we are in essence, formulating a more effective plan of action and conversation. And sometimes, after thinking about the outcome and consequences of such an exchange, we find the problem as not so monumental.

Another consideration when "taking on" the difficult colleague is the organization's unwritten rules and values. Is this issue significant enough to warrant upper level support? Has this issue surfaced before? If yes, what was the outcome - for both the confronter and confronted? You also may want to discuss the pros and cons of confronting the problem with your mentor before moving forward.

There are career enhancing and career sabotaging methods to effectively deal with and work with the difficult people. And although the difficult Do's are much more "difficult" to execute, they are well worth it in the long run.

Difficult Do's

• Acknowledge that you are in fact dealing with a difficult coworker and that things will not get better if ignored.
• Approach the individual in a professional manner and make an effort to confront the "right" problem.
• Carefully weigh the consequences with an outside-unbiased party (mentor) before addressing the problem.
• If the situation cannot seem to be resolved, seek the counsel of a supervisor and explain your concerns. When there is still no progress, request a mediation session with your supervisor and a human resource professional. This will ensure documentation of your issues, which will prove to be helpful down the road.

Difficult Don'ts

• Don't speak ill of the difficult colleague around the water cooler or anywhere else. Those who hear you may be wondering what you are saying about them.
• Do not become emotional when confronting the difficult colleague. This approach will always make you appear to be irrational.
• Don't downplay the cost of not speaking up when you should.

And remember, there is no reason to have to search for another job or a new career because of one challenging individual. By learning how to deal with the situation rationally and professionally, you only enhance your own reputation.

Reprint permission granted by Alison Sfreddo of The Mentoring Connection

Teach Your Employees' Communication Basics

COMMUNICATE / COMMUNICATE COMMUNICATE / COMMUNICATE 

Sharpen communication between you and your staff members by following these guidelines:

Really listen; don't "wait to talk." When employees are speaking, focus on what they're saying and try to understand their complete meaning. Don't let your attention wander because you're thinking about how you'll respond.

Be concise. Don't monopolize the conversation. Get to the point and give employees the chance to share their ideas.

Keep an open mind. Reserve judgment. Consider all points of view and possibilities before you respond.

Show respect. Convey your commitment to listening through your body language as well as through your silence. Don't slouch, fiddle with papers or carry on any side conversations.

Seek and confirm understanding. When you're not sure exactly what someone means, ask for clarification. Then, to confirm that you understood, summarize what you heard.

Appreciate more than one right answer. Each employee brings a different perspective to the discussion. Accept that problems can have more than one solution.

Reprint permission from:

Manager's Edge, Janelle Brittain, Oakhill Press