Conflict Resolutions

How to Change Conflict to Collaboration

By Sylvia Lafair | March 4, 2020 |

Dear Conflict Avoider, I’d like to offer a few tidbits about conflict and how to handle that nasty thing that drives us all to hide under the covers. For example, When I was a keynote speaker about conflict, I often asked how many people love competition. I ask that question, and in a room of…

Are you an avoider or initiator at work?

By Sylvia Lafair | February 7, 2020 |

Are you (or someone you know) an avoider?  You know…when there is conflict, contention, carrying-on in a nasty way that doesn’t stop, do you ever think “I gotta get outta here?†We all have that feeling at some time. However, when it happens over and over it’s a powerful behavior pattern…the avoider. Avoiders often grew…

The Jerk at Work, Not Me

By Sylvia Lafair | January 29, 2020 |

Hi everybody! Well, today is one of my favorite subjects, “The Jerk at Work, Not Meâ€. It’s out there. It’s always out there. We’re never the jerks at work. Are we? Well, you never know, but here’s what I’d like to do. I’m going to give you a sentence that you can use. Craft it…

Get the BUT Out of Your YES

By Sylvia Lafair | January 29, 2020 |

Do you ever get frustrated with petty conflicts at work? You’re not alone. A whopping 93% of workers report being affected in a negative manner by conflict.  The other variable is the length of time consumed by on-going, unresolved conflict.  Even worse is the fact that litigation for workplace harassment and hostile work environments has…

Letting Go of Behavior Patterns That We Developed During Childhood

By Sylvia Lafair | December 17, 2019 |

Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a glorious day even though everything seems overwhelmed and rushed, and we can’t move fast enough, and we can’t please everybody but nonetheless we just keep persevering, right? Except, sometimes we feel submissive compliant filled with self-doubt, create self-sabotage. Those days, everybody does it and what happens is, it…

Telling the Truth without Spilling Your Guts

By Sylvia Lafair | November 19, 2019 |

Summary: Telling the truth without spilling your guts is not easy. Here we look at the power of perfecting your words to be heard and not discarded. One important thought is that when you are upset and ready to explode with the words “and furthermore,” you are better off staying quiet. Here are some thoughts…

Being Able to Communicate for Clarity is Necessary

By Sylvia Lafair | August 6, 2019 |

Being able to communicate for clarity is an art…even if we are speaking in the same language it’s often hard to get clear with another person. My dear client Kellie called me, and I could tell she was choking back tears. I waited to see what the dilemma was. It was a big one. She…

Is being a leader a good idea?

By Sylvia Lafair | June 12, 2019 |

Have you ever wondered if being a leader is such a good idea? Or, if you are in a strong leadership position, have you ever wondered if you made the right choice. Leadership sounds so great. However, it’s not the ‘piece of cake’ so many people think it is. Recently I got an email from…

Coping with stress and frustrations in the workplace

By Sylvia Lafair | May 15, 2019 |

What do you do when you’ve had enough, and you just can’t look at one more project or help one more person solve an angry dispute at work?  Here’s 4 tips to coping with stress and frustrations in the workplace. Some of us go outside to puff on a cigarette (you betcha there are lots…

Making Relationships Work

By Sylvia Lafair | April 10, 2019 |

Making relationships work rather than putting them into an early grave takes thoughtfulness and intention.  If you’ve ever found yourself entangled in a less than ideal relationship with someone in your personal or professional life this will help you make sense of it all rather than throwing it all away. Let me share a recent…