“Never mind all that feelings stuff, let’s just do it”. Just do it. Just do the work. If only life were so simple. In the workplace, jointly solving problems often involves difficult conversations, and conflicting views. Difficult conversations won’t go well unless feelings are surfaced. We have to have those conversations. Change happens, finding solutions to […]
My “Expressing Feelings” Algorithm for Difficult Workplace Conversations and Problem-Solving
Shalom: Dispute and conflict and educational moments in a nonprofit board
Disputes are conflicts, our differences, brought to light. In 14 years of mediating business and community disputes, I’ve observed that a dispute is also, as often as not, a proxy for a hitherto unexpressed conflict, be it a gap in communication, a feeling that somethings not quite right, here, a hot button pushed… the list […]
Communication and Diplomacy: The skills workplace managers need to improve most
Raise your hand if you’ve been witness to a workplace conversation that goes something like this? Employee: I wish you had checked with me before making the decision. Manager: I just assumed that it worked for you. Employee: It puts me in a difficult position with the team. Manager: Don’t worry. I’ll talk to them. […]
The CEO, The Profits, and The Conflict
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) has been around almost as long as the nation state of Canada. The CPR was incorporated in 1881. The last few years have been good ones, for CPR shareholders. Yet, that “success” may have come at a price, workplace culture, as last weekend’s Globe and Mail feature on the CPR […]
Use diverse strategies to create workplaces that better benefit women
Today is International Women’s Day. The UN adopted ‘women in the changing world of work’ as its’ theme for International Women’s Day 2017. On that front, UN Women has a few facts you should know, starting with the wage gap: From the Executive Director of UN Women: “Achieving equality in the workplace will involve governments’ targeted […]