Sitting on a hard, plastic chair in the overly warm/chilled conference room, your eyes slowly drying up as you try to focus on the presentation in front of you, your brain drifting into wistful thoughts of the upcoming weekend…we’ve all been there. Hell hath no fury like the tedium of a pointless meeting. Meetings have a bad reputation as being …
Diversity is a risk
I’ve seen this happen time and time again. Managers and business owners who hire people like them, because naturally, we like, trust and respect people who are like us. It’s familiar, safe, and predictable. I read this article on Women’s Agenda this morning – “Why focussing on the team could lead to greater diversity” *, and it got me thinking …
The one question you must ask when conducting a performance appraisal
Is there anything that I can do to help you do your job better? Such an important question and so scary for the person conducting the appraisal! What if it opens up a can of worms? What if their request is unreasonable? If it does open a can of worms, then good! It was a time bomb waiting to explode …
Procedures and policies or bureaucracy?
Some time ago, I moved residences and had the misfortune of being too efficient or so I was told by an Australia Post employee – one who had a complete lack of common sense, not to mention customer service skills. I had gone to the post office to obtain a mail redirection where this ridiculous drama started. I was told it …
What’s the difference between an excuse and an explanation?
Coach Mi Definition: Explanation – A reason for why something happened. A process to help the listener understand. Excuse – An attempt at an explanation, but with the aim of absolving self or others from responsibility. Do you offer explanations or excuses? To the listener, an excuse usually has a hollowness to it, a lack of believability. So if you’re not …
The Workplace Psychopath – A Victim’s Story
Since I started this blog, no article has had more hits than the one titled Have you worked with a Workplace Psychopath? In light of this this, I decided to seek out a story from a victim’s point of view. The article that follows is in a victim’s own words and provides an insight to what happens and how damaging an …
Have you worked with a workplace psychopath?
So, what is a “workplace psychopath”? Believe it or not, this is not merely a derogatory term used to describe someone you don’t like at work. It is in fact a label used to describe a destructive personality type that occurs in the workplace. Common characteristics include manipulation and victimisation, and not surprisingly, not much good comes from having one in …
Mars and Venus in the Workplace (Book Review)
I enjoyed “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus” years ago and when I saw this book, I must admit I got quite excited and was very interested in how the same concepts could be translated into the workplace. Unfortunately, I found a lot of stereo-typing which didn’t resonate and found myself getting very frustrated as I was …
Type Talk at Work
Have you ever wondered why some people have work habits that completely annoy you? Are you an organised person who can’t understand how anyone could wait until the last minute to complete a project? Do you find that you love having abstract, conceptual discussions which other people don’t seem to understand? Or, are you the reverse? This book explains how …