Windridge eNews
November 2007
“Today the most useful person in the world is the man or woman who knows how to get along with other people.
Human relations is the most important science in the broad curriculum of living.”
Below
are six small, seemingly insignificant behaviors that drive those around
us to distraction. It is very common and all too easy to focus on what
our direct reports could/should be doing to make our lives easier, but
for now, let’s look at ourselves and where we can implement personal
change in what have been identified as the “Six Gripes” of workplace
relationships.
-
Inaccessibility –
Unavailable to answer questions or providing slow responses when
information, guidance, or approval is needed.
-
Unreliability – Not
delivering what we promise in a timely manner.
Canceling/rescheduling meetings at the last minute and not following
through on our commitments.
-
Rigidity – Inability to
handle change well. Refusing to adapt to the needs, circumstances of
style with those we work with.
-
Disrespectfulness –
Insulting, patronizing, condescending, and rude. Being dismissive of
other’s talents, skills, intelligence or contributions.
-
Vagueness – Unclear
communication of what is expected. Lack of clarity and possibly even
evasiveness. Double-mindedness, sometimes half way through a
project.
-
Unfairness – Taking more
than you are willing to give and expecting others to pick up the
slack. Entitlement that will eventually foster resentment in others.
These
gripes are not complicated and do not require deep evaluation, they show
up in almost every work place passing under our radar because we are
many times too overwhelmed to deal with them. The fact of the matter is
that each one of these petty little gripes robs us and our team of
efficiency, productivity and emotional energy.
Once
we become aware of any of these traits how do we correct them? It boils
down to our level of responsibility and basic desire to “play (or work)
well with others.”
Accessibility
- Be available, approachable (this
is a big one) and determined to respond to requests or inquiries in
a timely manner.
- Set established times daily or
weekly to meet with key members of your team. Get together monthly
or quarterly, say over lunch, with those who you don’t need daily or
weekly contact with.
Reliability
- Do what you say you will do, and
if there needs to be a deviation contact those involved in a timely
manner.
- Produce quality work that can be
depended on by others. Do not make false promises, and don’t agree
to anything until you have answered these three questions:
1)
How long will this take?
2)
When will I do it?
3)
Will I have to give
something up in order to make room for accomplishing this?
-
Just say “NO”!
-
Find graceful ways to get out of taking on more projects or requests than you can successfully complete. Know your limitations!
Adaptability
-
Be flexible and creative in a crunch.
-
Have a can-do approach to problems and roadblocks.
-
Change two little words in your vocabulary: “but” to “and”.
-
Try new ways of doing things and see if they are more efficient.
-
Realize that life is give and take; if you can be flexible and give to others they will in turn be more likely to be flexible with you.
Respectfulness
-
Be polite and considerate of others time and acknowledge the skills, knowledge and contribution of others.
-
Realize that people inherently want to do well.
-
Plain old fashioned manners go a long way in building respect with others.
-
Give people the respect of doing their jobs without micromanaging them and focus on “outcomes” rather than hours worked.
Clarity
-
Don’t be fuzzy or wishy-washy, let people know your expectations.
-
Make sure that people understand their assignment by asking them to repeat back the directions.
-
Explain your communication style up-front so that others can adapt to you and not take your style personally.
-
Let others know what you do and do not know... this is disarming and allows others the privilege of feeling that they are aiding you.
Fairness
-
Look for win-win in every situation and preserve the dignity of others by identifying solutions that benefit all sides of the working relationship.
-
Express appreciation for other’s contributions.
-
It
takes only one or two bad work relationships to sap a person of
emotional energy and productivity....and it only takes the smallest
changes to make big differences in working relationships.
The goal is to not let your inability to
"play well with others" be the reason for
your team's or
department's or organization's derailment.
There
is no need to feel overwhelmed by the above list, simply choose one area
that you know you need to adjust – and then begin.
The competency of working well with others provides greater
responsibility, productivity and fulfillment for all.
Lindsay Colitses, President
Windridge Consulting LLC lindsay@windridgeconsulting.com