Continued
Page - 1
Working Smart
Did you turn to this section first? With all the discussion about teamwork
and empowerment that takes place in our current work environments, you would
suppose that nothing more need be said. It isn’t so.
Our busy, hectic, schedule-packed work days and personal lives often find
us falling short of something . . . respect for one another. People around the
world work together every day, even if they are not friends. If we would merely
remember something from our pre-kindergarten days,
do unto others as you
would have them do unto you
, the workplace might have a more amenable
atmosphere.
Today, more than ever, the ability to be flexible with others, and to adapt to
other work styles and habits will take us a long way in our careers. We need to
be open in our communications with the public we serve and with each other—
to directly communicate with each other! So many misunderstandings encountered
today could be rapidly diffused if only the individuals had talked
with
each other rather than
toother people!
The world is rapidly changing, and our work environment is changing along
with it. The electronic revolution has caused us to work at warp speed every
day. Information that used to take two or three days via the U.S. Postal Service
is transmitted immediately with faxes and e-mail. We find that it is important to
be ready to respond immediately as well! This takes its toll emotionally and
physically on us. That’s why it is so important to be polite and respectful to
each other. After all, we are all
tryingto row the boat in the same direction . . .
to present current information to our citizens. We need to remember the goal,
the light at the end of the tunnel, the
big picture. Those that lose sight of the big
picture will find that it affects their work performance.
Work Styles
Many of us have probably been exposed (or subjected to) some type of
personality test. You may have discovered you are a
True Blue withAction
Orange
overtones.1 Or, perhaps you are a concrete sequential orabstract
random
.2
Each of us have individual strengths and weaknesses that make us who we
are. The key to success lies in acknowledging these traits, working with them,
and adapting ourselves to others.
Perhaps you are a morning person. Over time you may have discovered that
it is to your best advantage to tackle projects requiring more energy first thing.
Some prefer to plan their work in advance, while others fly by the seat of their
pants. Any of these sound familiar? The important thing is to recognize your
style and the styles of the people you work with. You may be able to save
yourself some frustration and get more work accomplished along the way!
Teamwork gets things done!
Interoffice
Relationships
1
Matrixx System Copyright 1993 NCTI
2
Gregorc Style Delineator Copyright 1982, 1985, Anthony F. Gregorc, Ph.D.
Work Styles
7
Working SmartPage - 2
Working Smart Continued
Your Career
If there is one thing we can count on it is change. Not many employees these days
could say that they will be employed by the same company for 25-30 years. This is
definitely a change from when our parents and grandparents were in the work force!
Joan Lloyd, an author, consultant, and speaker on workplace issues, has some good
advice when she suggests you “Begin thinking of yourself as a business of one.
Develop a freelance mentality. For example, pretend you are contracting with your
current employer rather than an employee. How does this change your approach to
work? Would you make sure your ‘client’ loves your work? Would you be on the
lookout for new projects? Would you be careful to build relationships within this client
company? Of course you would!”
She also suggests that you add value to your work. She explains, “If you are only
doing your job description by the book you are nothing more than a ‘pair of hands.’
And just any old pair of hands will do – you are expendable. Instead of doing what’s
expected, find ways to make your work stand out because you think ahead, solve
problems, and offer new ideas. If you were really freelancing, wouldn’t you make
sure your products and services added more value than the competition?”
Finally, Joan suggests that employees need to “Build a reputation for solving
problems. Did you ever notice that the same people always seem to get on task
forces and committees? Start thinking of yourself as one of those people and
raise your hand and get involved.” It has become increasingly important to
keep your education, skills, computer knowledge, and teamwork abilities
current.
Other areas where you can enhance your reputation and your career are in
your control. These areas include:
• Follow through – Say what you mean and mean what you say. The
old phrase “actions speak louder than words” is referred to a lot
lately. If you tell someone you are going to do something then JUST
DO IT. If something unforeseen happens and you can’t follow
through, then communicate that to the other people involved. You
could also title this category dependability. Can others rely on you?
• Gossip – Participation is simply unprofessional. How would you like
your physician’s receptionist discussing your private medical concerns
to friends at the pool? If there are interpersonal problems, it is
always best to handle them one-on-one in a focused fashion with the
people directly involved. Dragging others through the mud only
sidetracks and distracts the whole office team.
• Time management – Be well organized. Know your deadlines and
work commitments. Advanced planning will help lower your stress level
every day! Be sure to plan free time and fun. Time to recharge your
batteries is important. Spend time doing a hobby or other activity you
enjoy, spend time with your family, spend time with friends, or veg out in
the backyard! JUST DO IT!
Problem solvers go far.
"Successful teams build
on the strengths of
individual members."
from
"Winning with Teamwork"
Your Career
Continued
Page - 3
Working Smart
Managing Your Work
We are all managers. We direct, handle, and control our time, resources, and
work. While some have responsibilities for their own work, others are responsible for
several employees, or an entire office. Today’s workplace is so complicated that
some of the old traditional ways of the workplace do not seem appropriate anymore.
Even managers are confused with the changes today. In a recent column, Joan
Lloyd addressed management issues:
Managers are confused about empowerment . . . the leader who
empowers treats employees as adults instead of subordinates. Let’s
compare the micro-manager “
M” and the empowering manager “E.”
M
believes that employees will try to get away with as much as possible
unless you check up on them and let them know who’s boss. On the
other hand,
Eoperates from the philosophy that most employees want to
do the right thing and they enjoy a challenge. Ironically, both managers
end up reinforcing their own theories, since they’re self-fulfilling.
M
treats people like children who can’t be trusted and, sure enough, his
resentful employees begin proving him right.
Eputs a lot of trust in his
employees and they usually don’t let him down.
M
thinks most employees only work for a paycheck. Ebelieves that
employees are motivated when they are growing and taking on new
challenges.
M treats employees like a dispensable pair of hands.E
works with each employee to find out what their goals and abilities are
and looks for opportunities to develop the employee by giving them
larger areas of responsibility or projects in which they’re interested.
M
thinks of himself as an important decision-maker and a supervisor of
people.
Ethinks of himself as a leader who is pointing the way toward
organizational goals and a teacher/coach who educates his employees so
together they can make better decisions.
M
orders people to do what she wants and she gets compliance by
threatening them.
M’s employees do what she wants but they tend
to hide mistakes, make excuses and only do what they are told.
E
explains the results she’s looking for, and gives employees more
freedom to solve problems on their own, learn from their mistakes,
and suggest improvement ideas.
Edoesn’t accept excuses either;
she insists that employees take responsibility for their own behavior.
M
makes the decisions and only tells people what they need to know.E
makes decisions, too, but includes people whenever possible.
Eoperates
on a continuum of decision-making . . . the more it will affect employees
and will require their buy in, the more she invites involvement.
Who do you want to work for -
M or E?
Managing
Do you ever feel like this?
Try using your planner.
Page - 4
Working Smart Continued
Empowerment is a lot more than delegating responsibility and accountability.
It requires creating a new culture where employees are able to think and act
like “owners” because they have the information they need to make the right
decisions and the right environment that supports them.
Employees are trying to accomplish more technical work in less time than
ever before. It cannot be stressed enough that these same employees need to
have input in the office. We value employee input—after all our employees are
the front line. Our secretaries greet clients in person and on the phone, our
educators, community workers, and program assistants are presenting programs
to customers, and our unit leaders are representing University of Illinois Extension
with every contact they make. Doesn’t it make sense to have the best
possible people in our offices to accomplish our mission? If this is true, we must
trust and train employees to do their work. They need the latitude to fulfill this
mission in a business-like fashion. There is no time today to micro-manage
staff. They are adults . . . they are accountable for their work.
Be a Better Communicator
Recently Joan Lloyd
3had this to say about how to be a better communicator:
•
If people only talked to each other, most of the conflict in the workplace
would disappear. Instead, it seems when we are wounded by someone or
disagree with something they’ve done we end up talking to everyone
except the person who’s directly involved.
•
We wander down the hall and talk to a co-worker . . . mention it to our
lunch buddies . . . complain about it to our spouse. We spread the negative
poison around the organization, drag unwitting co-workers into the fray,
sully reputations and, in the end, erode the trust that comes from open,
honest, face-to-face communication.
•
Where did we ever get the idea that confronting someone face-to-face
had to be such a horrible encounter. Are we all so worried about being
“nice” that we’ve opted for being spineless? And when did we get
confused about the perils of telling people the truth? What about the perils
of not telling them the truth? Our organizations are paying a big price for
this ‘smile to your face/talk behind your back’ communication style. It
costs millions in wasted time and lost productivity, in addition to a human
price in broken trust and lost respect.
•
Now don’t get me wrong . . . I’m not advocating brutal honesty and
confrontation that strips away self-esteem and dignity. I’m talking about
the respectful, caring communication that says, ‘I care about our
relationship. Something’s bothering me and I thought it was important to
talk to you about it directly so we could reach an understanding.’
•
I think most people are afraid. They’re afraid of hurting someone’s
feelings. They’re afraid of sounding ‘negative’ or ‘making waves.’
3
We would like to gratefully acknowledge Joan Lloyd for her permission to include information
from her newspaper columns.
This fellow may increase
his effectiveness with
another leadership style.
Continued
Page - 5
Working Smart
They’re afraid of the backlash that can come from a conflict that
escalates into a fight. They’re afraid of de-motivating employees. They’re
afraid of not being liked. They’re afraid of collecting political baggage.
They’re afraid of not getting ahead or losing their job.
If you’re guilty of side-talk instead of straight-talk here are some behaviors that
can help:
• Use the ‘best intentions’ approach. Most people don’t intentionally wake
up in the morning and think to themselves, ‘I’m going to really hurt her
feelings today!’ Most people have the very best intentions. But it’s those
good intentions that keep getting us into trouble because others don’t
know our intentions . . . they only judge our actions.
• When approaching another person about a conflict say, ‘I’m sure you had
good intentions when you . . . but let me tell you how it looked from my
perspective . . .’ Rather than waving the finger of blame in someone
else’s face, just talk about the affect it had on you.
• Use the ‘I’m just getting your advice’ approach sparingly. A lot of
damage can be done by going to person after person ‘seeking advice’
about how to handle a conflict situation. It can become a way to see how
many people are on your side.
• Start by looking for things for which you should take responsibility. The
beauty of opening any conflict resolution session with self-disclosure is
that you bring the other person’s defenses down immediately and problem
solving can occur.
• Be as open and honest as you can, while preserving self-respect and
dignity. This is the very heart and soul of building trust. Sugar-coating your
message or smoothing over the seriousness only destroys trust. If you
respect the other person and want to remove barriers that are getting in
the way, the only way to build trust is to be open, honest and straightforward.
But in order to preserve the relationship, you must let people
maintain their dignity and save face.
• Does this sound pretty basic? You bet. It also is just plain good common
sense . . . but common sense isn’t so common . . . we all have to work
at it.
Listening
Try to keep in mind the old axiom used in real estate . . . location, location, location.
When you think of communication try . . . listen, listen, listen. We think of
communicating as a two-way street. You talk, I listen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t
always work that way! Most of us would rather
talk than listen.
You might try the following
Active Listening Techniques:
• Pay attention to non-verbal language. Body language gives important
clues to attitudes and feelings. Notice posture, gestures, facial expression,
and eye contact.
• Concentrate and work at listening, it’s hard work. If your mind wanders
and you lose your attention, the speaker will notice and think you aren’t
sincerely interested.
This poor fellow looks like a
victim of "side-talk"
Page - 6
Working Smart Continued
• Be accepting of what is said, without judging or evaluating.
• Avoid the temptation to jump into the conversation with stories and
examples of your own. Making a few attempts at commonalities is helpful,
but making too many detracts from the speaker’s thoughts.
• Be empathetic. Put yourself in the place of the speaker: imagining
how he or she is thinking and feeling.
• Listen to the “para language”. . .the tone of voice is a good indicator
of a person’s emotional state. Listen for tone, the pitch, hesitation or
stuttering, loudness, rate, fluency and inflection.
• Guard against asking questions which may get the speaker off the
track. There are several skills that will help:
(1) Gathering information . . . “tell me more about that,” “let’s see
if I have heard it correctly.”
(2) Clarifying . . . practice reflective listening by paraphrasing and/
or summarizing . . . “in other words, you’re saying,” “it sounds like
you are,” “is this what you mean?”
(3) Summarizing . . . by summarizing what has been said, you give the
speaker feedback that helps you understand and shows the speaker
that he or she has been heard.
• Add any considerations you think are important.
Other tips for improving communication and listening include:
• Stop talking! You cannot listen if you are talking.
• Learn to want to listen - you must have desire, interest, selfdiscipline,
concentration.
• Resist the temptation to daydream.
• Be a “whole-body” listener. Listen with your ears, eyes, and
heart.
• Control distractions. Don’t doodle, open the mail, or make phone
calls.
• Hold your temper. An angry person takes the wrong meaning
from words.
• Go easy on argument and criticism. This puts people on the
defensive, and they may clam up or become angry.
• Ask questions. This encourages a talker and shows that you are listening.
It helps to develop points further.
• Nature gave people two ears but only one tongue, which is a
gentle hint that they should listen more than they talk.
• Listening requires two ears, one for meaning and one for feeling.
• Decision makers who do not listen have less information for
making sound decisions.
Conflict Management
The chart in
Appendix Aprovides some information about behaviors you might
have encountered and behaviors that you could use positively in the future.
Please refer to
Appendix B for a Conflict Management Style Surveyyou can
use to do your own self-assessment.
Good listening = good
communication
Listening
Continued
Page - 7
Working Smart
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Above all, when we go about our daily work and interact with co-workers
and the public, we need to keep in mind the reason we are all here.
To enable people to improve their lives and communities through learning
partnerships that put knowledge to work.
As one of our regional directors often puts it, “What have you done today
to help the citizens of the State of Illinois?” Let’s also be sure to put knowledge
to work on ourselves too.
The Light
at the End
of the Tunnel
Appendix A-1
What works What doesn’t
Simply state your needs and concerns. Argue your position. Come on strong.
Listen. Acknowledge what is being said. Question the other person
’s point of reference.
Challenge his values, point out weakness of other
’s
thinking.
Clarify what the other party means. Interpret. Make assumptions, jump to conclusions.
Invite criticism. Clarify what underlies that Defend yourself. Fight back.
criticism. Encourage venting
—letting off steam.
Acknowledge the feeling expressed,
“I can
see why you
’d be angry over that.”
Agree. Acknowledge any truths in their Disagree. Focus on areas of dispute.
statements (accusations). Seek out areas of
agreement. Focus on common concerns.
Focus on the problem, not the person. Focus on the personalities involved. Criticize.
Describe the problem in terms of the impact Keep score, teach them a lesson. Focus on what
you feel,
“I feel we are not getting equal the other side has said or done.
treatment,
” instead of “You are a male
chauvinist.
”
Encourage joint problem solving.
“We’re in Impose your will. Solve the problem for them.
this together.
”Use force.
Broaden your choices. Break problem into Push for a solution (yours). Don
’t back down.
smaller more manageable parts.
Clarify the criteria on which this judgment is Play on their emotions. Moralize. Argue the
to be made. Seek objectivity. When things rightness of your position. Make it a game,
get heated take a break. egg them on.
Compromise. Find a solution acceptable to Win out over the other side. Enforce majority
both sides. vote. Line up support. Refuse compromise.
Take it to a higher authority.
Affirm the person. Give positive support Belittle the person. Weaken the opposition.
equal in strength to the vigor with which you Wear them down. Be strong.
attack the problem. Give credit, value the
relationship.
Be firm but considerate and open. Share your Be nice. Cover up your real feelings. Avoid
real feelings in a nonthreatening manner. confrontation, be submissive, give in, it
’s not
worth the hassle.
Conflict Management Behaviors
Appendix B-1
Conflict Management Style Survey
Instructions: Choose a single frame of reference and keep it in mind as you answer the questions. Select a real
community issue in which you have been involved, for example, school financing, street
improvement, lack of animal control outside the city limits, etc.
Allocate 10 points among the four alternative answers given for each of the 15 items below.
Example: When the people I lead become involved in a personal conflict, I usually:
Intervene to settle Call a meeting to talk
the dispute. over the problem. Offer to help if I can. Ignore the problem.
Be certain that your answers add up to 10.
1. When someone I care about is actively hostile toward me, i.e., yelling, threatening, abusive, etc., I tend to:
Try to persuade the
person to give up
Respond in a hostile his/her actively Stay and listen as long
hostile manner. hostile behavior. as possible. Walk away.
2. When someone who is relatively unimportant to me is actively hostile toward me, i.e., yelling, threatening,
abusive, etc., I tend to:
Try to persuade the
person to give up
Respond in a his/her actively Stay and listen as
hostile manner. hostile behavior. long as possible. Walk away.
3. When I observe people in conflicts in which anger, threats, hostility and strong opinions are present, I tend
to:
Become involved
and take a Observe to see what Leave as quickly
position. Attempt to mediate. happens. as possible.
4. When I observe another person as meeting his/her needs at my expense, I am apt to:
Work to do Rely on persuasion
anything I can to and
“facts”when Work hard at
change that attempting to have changing how I relate Accept the situation
person. that person change. to that person. as it is.
Appendix B-2
5. When involved in an interpersonal dispute, my general pattern is to:
Draw the other Let time take its
person into Examine the issues Look hard for a course and let the
seeing the problem between us as workable problem work
as I do. logically as possible compromise. itself out.
6. The quality that I value the most in dealing with conflict would be:
Emotional strength
and security. Intelligence. Love and openness. Patience.
7. Following a serious altercation with someone I care for deeply, I:
Want to go back and Worry about it a lot
Strongly desire to work it out
—whatever but not plan to Let it lie and not
go back and settle give-and-take is initiate further plan further
things my way. necessary. contact. contact.
8. When I see serious conflict developing between two people I care about, I tend to:
Express my
disappointment Attempt to persuade
that this had to them to resolve their Watch to see what
happen. differences. develops. Leave the scene.
9. When I see serious conflict developing between two people who are relatively unimportant to me, I tend to:
Express my
disappointment Attempt to persuade
that this had to them to resolve their Watch to see what
happen. differences. develops. Leave the scene.
10. The feedback that I receive from most people about how I behave when faced with conflict and opposition
indicates that I:
Try to work out Am easygoing and take
Try hard to get my differences a soft or conciliatory Usually avoid the
way. cooperatively. position. conflict.
Appendix B-3
11. When communicating with someone with whom I am having a serious conflict, I:
Try to overpower Am an active listener Am a passive
the other person Talk a little bit more (feeding back words listener (agreeing
with my speech. than I listen. and feelings). and apologizing).
12. When involved in an unpleasant conflict, I:
Make an occasional
quip or joke about Suppress all
Use humor with the situation or the Relate humor only to attempts at
the other party. relationship. myself. humor.
13. When someone does something that irritates me (e.g., smokes in a non-smoking area or crowds in line in
front of me), my tendency in communicating with the offending person is to:
Look the person
Insist that the directly in the eye Avoid looking
person look me in and maintain eye Maintain intermittent directly at the
the eye. contact. eye contact. person.
14. When someone does something that irritates me (e.g., smokes in a non-smoking area or crowds in line in
front of me), my tendency in communicating with the offending person is to:
Stand close and Use my hands and Stand close to the Stand back and
make physical body to illustrate my person without keep my hands to
contact. points. touching him or her. myself.
15. When someone does something that irritates me (e.g., smokes in a non-smoking area or crowds in line in
front of me), my tendency in communicating with the offending person is to:
Use strong, direct Talk gently and tell
language and tell Try to persuade the the person what my
the person to stop. person to stop. feelings are. Say and do nothing.
Appendix B-4
Conflict Management Style Survey
Scoring and Interpretation Sheet
Instructions: When you have completed all 15 items, add your scores vertically, resulting in four column totals.
Put these on the blanks below.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Using your total scores in each column, fill in the bar graph below.
Column 1. Aggressive/Confrontive: High scores indicate a tendency toward
“taking the bull by the horns”and a
strong need to control situations and/or people. Those who use this style are often directive and judgmental.
Column 2. Assertive/Persuasive: High scores indicate a tendency to stand up for oneself without being pushy, a
proactive approach to conflict, and a willingness to collaborate. People who use this style depend heavily on their
verbal skills.
Column 3. Observant/Introspective: High scores indicate a tendency to observe others and examine oneself
analytically in response to conflict situations as well as a need to adopt counseling and listening modes of
behavior. Those who use this style are usually accepting and patient, often suppressing their strong feelings.
Column 4. Avoiding/Reactive: High scores indicate a tendency toward passivity or withdrawal in conflict
situations and a need to avoid confrontation. Those who use this style are usually accepting and patient, often
suppressing their strong feelings.
Now total your scores for Columns 1 and 2 and Columns 3 and 4.
Column 1 + Column 2 = Column 3 + Column 4 =
(Score A) (Score B)
If Score A is significantly higher than Score B (25 points or more), it may indicate a tendency toward
aggressive/assertive conflict management. A significantly higher B score signals a more conciliatory
approach.
