My work with individuals and groups over the years has helped me to uncover 3 key ways to win at work when you’re feeling frazzled and ready to throw in the towel.
Have you found that at one time or another you wanted to stuff a sock in someone’s mouth rather than listen to them wail or rail?
Think about the gal on your team that never stops complaining, or the big shot who is always bragging, or the bully who steamrolls over others with their point of view and never listens to others.
You go home exhausted from the tension and lack of cooperation.
“It’s just business,” you say to yourself with a shrug.
Hey there, pay attention. That’s just traditional wisdom playing with you.
And it’s simply NOT true.
There are businesses with great leaders who get along, have fun at work, enjoy solving challenges together, and make great profits.
You belong in that setting. Here’s what many leaders have done to create workplaces that work.
Let’s look at the three main ways of changing what’s not working, for you or those on your team (Hint for leaders: you need to start with yourself before you can be of help to others).
Here is the way OUT:
Observe your own behavior: If you have a problem and you solve it, that’s great. That’s what business is all about. However, if the same problem keeps showing up time after time, well then, you have a pattern to deal with.
Once you declare a problem to be repetitive, then you can make change happen.
Understand the root issues: Close the door or go sit in your car. No distractions. Write out what is keeping you stuck. Not a dissertation, just a short paragraph. Now, answer this question “When else did you have the same feelings of frustration and upset?”
Connect the dots from past upsets to the present problem. My bet is that you will see quickly how the past and present are related.
Transform by taking action: This is where you commit to change. Take an honest look at the part you play in the on-going situation (yes, you do play a role, so don’t try to wiggle out of this by pointing your finger at others). Changing behavior beyond a superficial way requires discipline, experimentation, and practice.
There are 13 major patterns that get in the way of positive relationships at work. You can find out which one/s have you name on them by taking the Leadership Quiz at www.ceoptions.com.
Take the quiz. It’s eye-opening.
Cause if you don’t, you’ll stay stuck in pattern repetition, like the guy in the movie Groundhog Day.
Once you learn to harness your own power by transforming the negative patterns into healthy ones you get amazing rewards. There is more honest communication, better relationships, optimized team collaboration, and greater financial success.
Become a pattern buster and watch your leadership abilities soar.
