Category Archives: Build Positive Work Relationships

Making the best of your work situation is important if you want to feel satisfied in your career or have aspirations to advance up the corporate ladder. Building positive work relationships can not only help you enjoy going to work every day, but position you to advance and gain recognition for your accomplishments. Joel Garfinkle, who has written extensively on how to develop effective leaders, discusses common hindrances to positive workplace relationships and provides you with practical leadership development tips that will teach you how to make the best of any situation.

Coping With Toxic Coworkers

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From time to time we all have to deal with overly-critical and toxic coworkers, clients, supervisors and other “nay-sayers” in the workplace.

#1 Issue With Toxic Coworkers – Being Critical

Criticism shows up in a number of different ways. It can be blatant and very public, such as someone pointing out your budget errors in a staff meeting or making fun of your idea for a new ad campaign.

It can also be sneaky and snarky, such as the co-worker who critiques your latest project in the coffee room—when you’re not even present to defend yourself.

You’ll need two things to cope with criticism effectively: assertiveness and self-confidence. Take those key ingredients and incorporate them into these four common sense tips to sustain your sanity when the critics are nipping at your heels. (These are based on my workbook Love Your Work.)

4 Tips on How to Deal … Continue reading Coping With Toxic Coworkers →

10 Ways to Resolve Workplace Conflict

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“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph”

~ Thomas Paine

Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Astor, two prominent British politicians, experienced one of the most hostile relationships in Parliament history. Their interactions were constantly filled with conflict, sarcasm, and caustic remarks, each intending to pay the other back in full for past transgressions.

Once during a legislative session, Lady Astor became so upset with one of Churchill’s decisions that she shouted, “Sir Winston, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea.”

To which Churchill quickly retorted, “Madam, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

If your work life sometimes feels like a session of the old-school British Parliament, take heart. You can’t change your coworkers, but you can change your point of view about them—and about yourself. Here’s the reality: In today’s “dog-eat-dog” work environment, many people needlessly put each … Continue reading 10 Ways to Resolve Workplace Conflict →

Gossiping in the Workplace

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“I contacted Joel to help increase my confidence and visibility. He helped me identify barriers that kept me in the background and we developed a plan to overcome them. I now speak up more at meetings, work on high-profile projects and have just completed an article for publication.”

Cecilia Willer, Partner Business Manager, HEWLETT-PACKARD

You may not have a water cooler or a coffee room, but if you’re in a workplace with more than two people, you’ve got gossip!

There’s really no positive outcome to gossip in the workplace. It’s a huge time waster, it ruins morale, and it can spread faster than a bad cold. Exerting strong leadership means learning to rein in gossip before it impacts the organization. Let’s take a look at how to avoid gossip in the workplace, how to address it when you hear it, and what to do if … Continue reading Gossiping in the Workplace →

Lessons on Teamwork from Really Bad Team Members

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Lessons_on_teamwork_from_really_bad_team_members

The best managers understand that effective leaders are also solid team players. The workplace is filled with capable teammates — even some who take initiative, overdeliver and inspire colleagues. Unfortunately, there’s also the occasional employee who has no idea how to collaborate or communicate effectively. Such poor performers aren’t entirely useless, though. They offer some of the most poignant lessons on teamwork and leadership.

Here are seven things failing team members do — and what you can learn from them.