The dysfunctional workplace is a killer. Untreated it will kill off your customer base, your profits, and your joy for living as surely as anything.
As managers, leaders and top executives within your organization you’ve got to kill the conflicts in your workplace first before dysfunction takes hold.
The Top Ten Workplace Conflicts That Disrupt Organizations—and the Cure for Each
No. 1: No teamwork
The best managers lead a team – not just a group of individual employees. If you have employees at odds and you show no desire to fix it then you are leading your organization to a disaster.
So, make sure that the most direct supervisor meets with those involved in a workplace conflict to learn what it will take to resolve it and to secure a firm commitment to do so. Don’t forget to spell out immediate consequences in the event of failure.
No. 2: Saying one thing and meaning another.
If you have an employee with a pattern of saying, “But what I meant was…”, call them on it. Requiring the offender to have all communications checked for clarity for a period of time usually nips this in the bud fast.
No. 3: Giving lip service to new ideas then undercutting them in private.
You’ll want to enlist everyone’s help in keeping this workplace conflict out. Make it clear that dissenting opinions are welcomed during decision making, but that once a decision is made, undercutting will not be tolerated.
No. 4: Defensiveness at reasonable suggestions.
As a manager, it is your responsibility to let your team know that you consider a willingness to improve to be one of the hallmarks of a person with a bright future in your company. Defensiveness should be viewed as what it is—an unwillingness to improve one’s self.
No. 5: Attraction to chaos.
Pot stirring is a violation of principles and a threat to productivity. Counterbalance the pleasure they get from drama with a greater measure of negative consequences.
No. 6: Not following through on commitments.
Let your team know that they are expected to acknowledge errors and make a commitment to clean up every last bit of the resulting mess.
No. 7: Deflecting blame.
Deflecting blame equals deflecting responsibility. Make it clear that the only acceptable behavior is acceptance of responsibility and (as above) quick work to clean up the mess.
No. 8: People pretending like they “never got the memo.”
If there was no breakdown in the actual system, make it clear that the employee is responsible for consistently accessing internal communications like memos and emails so that he is never again “out of the loop.”
No. 9: Refusing to deal with conflict directly.
Conflict resolution is an essential part of a manager’s job. Performance reviews can and should count disruptive interpersonal conflicts against managers on whose watch they occur.
No. 10: Gossiping and backstabbing.
Once you establish a zero-tolerance policy for talking behind another person’s back, give your people permission to address conflict head-on, out loud, courageously and honestly. And make it clear that giving or receiving gossip is not acceptable.
You may have noticed a refrain coming back again and again in this advice: Make it clear. Once you’ve made the determination to purge your workplace of dysfunctional behavior, your greatest ally and most powerful tool will be clarity. Follow the advice in this article and in my new book “Thank God It’s Monday” and you will terminate all workplace conflicts and improve your organization’s productivity.
About the Author:
Roxanne Emmerich is renowned for her ability to transform “ho hum” workplaces into massive results-oriented “bring-it-on” environments. To discover how you can ignite the passion of your employees, catapult performance to new levels, and boost employee morale of your company, subscribe to the Thank God It’s Monday™ e-zine at www.ThankGoditsMonday.com
Category: People & Relationships
About.com Entrepreneurs by Scott Allen: One of the main reasons that people site for attending a conference is the networking opportunities. Yet they often leave the event feeling they made few or no connections. Here are 10 Tips to help you get the most out of connecting with others at a conference:
1. Have a plan. Know in advance whom you want to meet (directly or the type of people), which speakers you want to hear, and what tradeshow booths you want to visit.
2. Set appointments in advance. If you know that there will be people in attendance whom you know that you would like to see, call or email a few weeks in advance to schedule a time to meet for coffee, a meal, or a drink.
3. Do not focus on meeting the celebrity speakers. Place you focus on meeting other people in attendance at the event. It is the other attendees who you are most likely to bond with and create real long lasting mutually beneficial friendships.
4. Talk to the people sitting next to you. Once you have said something as simple as “hello”, it will be easier to talk with them later in the week if you see them again.
5. Ask questions of people you meet. People are more interested in themselves than they are in you, so ask them questions to help them get to talking.
6. Put your technology away. Do not run to your phone, BlackBerry, or laptop at every break. Utilize the time on breaks to converse with others.
7. Do not automatically send a LinkedIn or Facebook request. Best is to ask people if they would welcome such a link at this time. Be respectful of the fact that they might use social networking differently than you do.
8. Read their stuff. Many people are active bloggers, twitterers, authors, etc… If people create the written word, seek out their work and read it. It is a great way to get to know people by reading their stuff, but they will also be honored when you tell them that you read their blog or follow them on Twitter.
9. Introduce others. When you meet cool people, be the conduit who connects them with others who might be beneficial to them.
10. Follow up. If you meet interesting people and you never follow up, it makes no difference. Own the follow up after you meet people and send them an email (or better yet, a handwritten note) telling them how much you enjoyed talking with them, and plan for future discussions.
About the Author:
Scott Allen is a 20-year veteran technology entrepreneur, executive, and consultant. His latest venture, Link to Your World, LLC, is a full-service consulting firm that helps Global 2000 companies transform virtual relationships into real business. He is co-author of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online and The Emergence of The Relationship Economy and a popular speaker on how entrepreneurs and professionals can use social media and social networking to grow their business.
Are you familiar with joint venture partnerships?
In the course of a month, it’s not uncommon for me to receive several emails from people who are launching a book, product, or program with an invitation to participate in “getting the word out” to people in my network. The invitation includes offering a free high value bonus to purchasers of that book, product or program. If the bonus is accepted, each partner is supplied with the promotional emails to send out to their list on a specific day or time frame.
It’s a cost effective way to reach hundreds, thousands, and millions of people all over the world to build your email list and generate income.
This practice has been around for years. You’ve probably received tons of emails either inviting you to participate as a JV partner or make a purchase based on the trusted recommendation of the email list you’re on. Once the purchase is made, people have access to all the free bonuses submitted.
In the last few years, I have invited folks to partner with me as well as agreeing to promote select campaigns because I cannot say yes to every invitation that comes my way.
Some of the criteria I use to make my choices to say yes:
* I have partnered with that person previously and trust in their material and reputation
* The invitation is a referral from someone I know and trust
* There is an opportunity to generate affiliate income from referral registrations
* I have reviewed or experienced the book, product or program in advance to assess it is a good fit for my list, complements my own business focus, and is of high value
* The author of the material is available to be interviewed in my Compelling Conversations Series if I want to book them as part of the promotion to introduce them to my network
* The information has a fresh perspective on material that might not be new (what really is new?)
* I have a good feel for it, intuitively
On the whole, I have found JV partnerships to be a great way to introduce my business to new markets, build my reputation and brand, and generate income. Having folks promote my products and programs to their network has been a tremendous support in marketing my business. So it has been disappointing in the last few years to see that some people have dropped the ball in their agreements to promote the campaigns to their list.
I’ve had this happen on at least two occasions. They’ve given me different reasons for not following through and I believe it becomes even more important to be selective about commitments Today, people are inundated with so many invitations they are saying yes to more things than they can manage. To me it’s about integrity and ethics. If I say I will promote something, barring an emergency, you can count on me to do what I say I will do, period. If I need to change my mind, I will let people know as far in advance as possible.
So, if you are using JV promotions to build your business, be sure you are saying yes for the right reasons:
* It’s a good fit for your market
* You can honestly recommend the product
* You have the time, energy, and space to add another commitment to your plate
* You have the systems in place to follow through on your promotion agreements
* You send out the promo mailing when you say you will
When folks are looking for additional JV partners, they will look at prior campaigns for ideas on who to contact. The web is a small place and people talk. You can either foster a positive or negative reputation.
A few days ago I received a voicemail from a woman saying she wanted to speak with me about coaching. I thought, “Cool”, because I have a few openings for new clients. Normally when people leave toll free numbers as call backs, I might have some suspicion about why they are really calling. I also work with many folks who work for companies so it’s not always clear cut as to whether the message is disguised as a sales call.
So, I called her back, left a message and we played phone tag a few times before we finally connect,ed which was about an hour ago. Within 15 seconds she launches into a sales pitch and is asking me to go to a website so she can walk me though what her company can do for me. She says, “It was only take 15-20 minutes.”
NO.
I said, “Bottom line what you do so I can determine whether I even want to continue this conversation or see your website”.
She said, “I can’t really do that because we customize what we can offer people and it is better is I show you.”
Wrong answer.
I said, “If you can’t give me any idea about your company or why I should even care about looking at your website, you are wasting my time and this conversation is over.”
Her response was to offer me her website address for me to look at my convenience.
Oh, you bet I’ll go look. I’ll do it right now…… not.
You see, if she had come out and left me a message that was direct and told me why she was calling me, the likelihood I (or anyone else) would return the call would potentially drop. Telling me she wanted to speak with me about coaching was a perfect hook…until she gets me on phone. And had I been willing to visit her site, give her my time and attention, she was probably hoping that I would like what I see enough to consider doing business with her, right?
I find myself shaking my head in wonder that approaching people this way actually results in a sale and it must work or people wouldn’t keeping doing it. I’m sure she was trained by her company to prospect that way. And, even if what she has to offer might be worth considering, I would never do business with her or her company because I don’t like being handled or manipulated and I won’t play along.
I received an email invitation last year to attend a special event by someone whose name was familiar to me. The invitation was compelling and certain bits of information was missing like who the company was, what it was about…. So, out of curiosity I went to the first online presentation. It was a beautifully presented webinar about being on the ground floor of an exciting new business, blah, blah blah and had just enough information to keep a person interested to take the next step and still left out what the product, program or company was. The campaign was strategic and pushed all the right buttons. It’s a percentages game of prospecting. Done correctly, a certain % of people will say YES.
I don’t believe in “one size fits all” sales and marketing tactics. I prefer direct infomation without all the hype like we’re having a conversation over a cup of coffee.
Many years ago I was a sales rep on 5th Avenue in New York selling different women’s accessories (scarves, belts & unbrellas). I had lots of pressure to open new business, meet quotas and sales figures. One of the reasons I was so succesful is that my accounts felt I cared about them doing well with their company sales and they trusted me.
Most successful people recognize that building relationships is the cornerstone of having a thriving business and personal life. We build relationships by making connections. Whether you work for yourself or someone else, you bring “who you are” into every conversation and interaction. The first thing people “buy” is YOU before they consider any product or service you have to offer.
Creating rapport is an important factor in making connections with people. We can do that by being forthright and sincere. When we genuinely seek opportunities to help others succeed by asking, “How can I be of help to you?” we invite affiliations and friendships to form.
People buy from those they know and trust. Nowhere is this more true than on the Internet, where you may never even meet anyone in person. Establishing a trust relationship with your potential online clients takes time, but it is well worth the effort!
Think about the last time you bought a product or service online, that had a substantial positive impact on your work or life in some way. If you were spending a good chunk of change (and perhaps investing a good bit of your time) on that purchase, chances are you did some research first: reading online forums and reviews to see what others had to say about them; contacting them directly with questions and observing how quick and helpful (and polite) their response was; maybe even buying a smaller product or service from them first. All to determine if you could trust this online business to deliver what they promise.
Your potential online clients are no different! They are going to want to know if they can trust you to deliver, too. Here are three specific ways you can work on building trust relationships online, and how each will help your business:
1. Get to know your customers. This helps you more deeply understand what it is they need — making it a lot easier to tell them how what you are selling is going to meet their needs. Find out where they “hang” out, on discussion forums, social networks, etc., and get involved. Don’t just schmooze or try to sell your product right then and there — instead, add value to the conversation. If you are doing it right, you’ll be doing a whole lot more listening than talking.
2. Connect with your customer on a personal level. Let them see you as a person, one who has some things in common with them. People will trust you, and ultimately buy from you, if they feel you are like them. This means being sincere and transparent — not pretending or making something up. If you can’t make that trust connection with one particular person, don’t force it — move on to someone else.
3. Keep up the trust relationship. The relationship doesn’t stop after the sale! Clients who know and like you, and have benefitted from what you have sold them, will tell others about you! It will be easy for them to recommend you because they are recommending a trusted vendor, not an impersonal business or product. If you’ve done a good job of providing them with something that makes their job or life easier, they won’t be able to wait to tell someone else!
Terri Zwierzynski is a self-employed business strategist and marketing consultant to solo entrepreneurs, and a grassroots promoter of the solo entrepreneur lifestyle. She runs Solo-E.com, the resource website for the self-employed which attracts thousands of solo home business owners monthly from over 100 countries on six continents (and was recently named a finalist for “Website of the Year” in the 4th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business). Terri is also the co-author of 136 Ways To Market Your Small or Solo Business.