How can you resolve basic problems in the workplace? Review the following advice for common situations offered by participants in a recent course. Then, share your thoughts by e-mailing us at ranshaw@ranshawconsulting.com.
Typical workplace situations include:
It's frustrating when co-workers promise to help us with a project and then leave us high and dry. How to ensure that people do what they promise? Try to:
 | Ensure that you and the other person agree on what he or she should do. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Establish a deadline you both agree on. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Set milestones that involve some type of output and follow up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If necessary, involve management either to clear the other
person's schedule or to enforce the agreement.
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| Remind participants that making effective use of time at meetings results in fewer meetings. | ||||||||||||||||
| Agree on a few ground rules for effective meetings and post them
prominently. Ideas include:
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| Hold meetings only when they are necessary. Avoid meetings when an e-mail or phone call will do. | ||||||||||||||||
| Avoid engaging in side-talks yourself. If other attendees start a side conversation when you are speaking, stop and wait for them to finish and rejoin the group. |
Responsibility without authority is a great source of stress in today's workplace. Most people find it frustrating to learn they're being held accountable for events over which they have little or no control. Participants recommend:
| Gain acknowledgement from an appropriate authority. In other words, make sure someone agreed that you should be responsible. And, get it in writing. As a last resort, you can send an e-mail to the proper person stating that you understand your responsibility. |
| Define boundaries and roles. Just what are you responsible for? Be specific--what is the scope of the project and where do your responsibilities begin and end. Again, in writing, indicate what authority you need to proceed. |
| Clarify company and individual goals. If there are conflicts, resolve them before continuing. Of course, get agreements in writing. |
| Negotiate frequently so that everyone understands and agrees on who's responsible for what. |
| Oh, did we mention it? Get all agreements in writing. |
OK, so you've asked that person in another department to send you a simple update on a project...but nothing happens. So, you call again and follow up with an e-mail. Still no results. You're going to be in that area, so you decide to stop by and the result is..."What was that you needed again?" Does it ever seem like people have to work at it to be this stupid?
Participants agree that this can be one of the most frustrating experiences they have; unfortunately, they seem to be getting more common. Here are a few ways to begin getting a handle on these situations:
| Take a deep breath, repeat your request, and try to keep your irritation from showing. Becoming upset usually only makes the situation worse. Ask a few questions to ensure the other person knows what you want. Quite often the problem is not incompetence but overwork, lead staffing, poor training, or lack of information. Often, it's a combination of several of these. Being understanding will go further in getting you what you want--and may help the other person better meet the next challenge. |
| If the person works for you, find out if he or she has the proper training to do the job right. Or, does the person need better written instructions? Once you identify the source of the problem, take steps to correct it. |
| Ask yourself whether the person is motivated to do a good job. Most people will do more when they have a reason to do so. |
All too often bosses assign work to employees with little or no direction on what's expected or how to complete the job. Just as commonly, workers are ordered to report to another boss without clear guidelines. The results are frustration and incomplete or incorrectly completed jobs. The problems take many forms; bosses may:
| Withhold information the employee needs, either intentionally or unintentionally. |
| Deliberately offer misleading information. |
| Use a third person to communicate information; this person may lack a clear grasp of the task, not understand how to pass on the assignment to the person being assigned the task, or both. |
When the lack of direction is inadvertent, participants recommend that you:
| Ask for clarification. |
| Document all steps, to allow for learning from any missteps. |
| Restate understanding so the boss or other person assigning the task can clear up any confusion. |
When the poor communication seems intended, you have the dual responsibilities of trying to complete the task while protecting yourself from repercussions. Participants recommend:
| Document everything, including instructions and steps you've taken to complete the task. |
| Double-check sources of information. If the person assigning the task seems unclear on the purpose of the action or how to complete it, you should ask to talk with the original source. |
| Follow up frequently via e-mail or other written communication. It may be the boss or other individual who delegated the work was distracted and the misdirection was unintentional. However, the situation will never become clearer until you share your misunderstanding as well as understanding. |
At times everyone feels like the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. He or she seems to be running from one place to another with little purpose. Here is what participants recommend:
| Make lists and prioritize tasks. |
| Clarify expectations with your boss. Did she mean for you to take on a new assignment? |
| Try to handle daily interruptions. Avoid letting them derail more important work. |
| Delegate tasks to others when possible. |
| Create a schedule that lets you complete your work while leaving some leeway for normal interruptions. |
| Block out time on your calendar that allows you to get your work done. This keeps others from scheduling you for meetings during time you need to complete your assigned work. |
| Separate friendship from business during work hours. Tell friends who call that you're busy and will call back to them later. If the friends are co-workers who drop in for a chat, offer to meet for lunch at a time when your workload is a little freer. |
| Work from home a few days each week. |
| Keep one appointment source. Avoid having multiple calendars to prevent over-booking yourself. |
Participants split on this issue--between bosses who feel they do a good job of recognizing their employees' efforts and workers who feel unrewarded for special situations. Before launching your complaint, they all suggest:
| Ensure that your effort is unusual enough to merit special distinction. Some bosses feel that employees want daily praise for performing their normal job duties. |
| Check out the politics. Your boss may know you've done a superior job but is holding back for a good reason. For example, he or she may be aware that the "big boss" was unaware of the problem you solved so expertly--and why make waves? |
When you know you've gone above and beyond the call of duty, and you want to be recognized for it, participants recommend:
| Ask your boss what he or she thought of your performance. That may start the discussion rolling. |
| Plant the seed with a co-worker you know has the boss's ear. |
| Be patient. Your reward may be planned for the next department- or company-wide event where recognition is a scheduled part of the agenda. |
Few people enjoy receiving criticism, but participants (as well as experts in this field) agree that everyone can lessen its sting. They recommend:
| Consider the source. Is this a person whose opinion you respect? Is the intent to help you improve, or just to make you feel like a bum? Is the critic knowledgeable about the topic he or she is criticizing you on? |
| Take a deep breath (close your mouth, breath through your nose, and relax your throat and neck muscles). Until you get control of yourself, you can't even hear what the person is saying. |
| Step out of the situation and act as an observer. Think, "Hmmm, this is interesting. I wonder what's motivating this person." |
| Listen. It's hard to listen well when someone makes a critical comment, but try. Ask questions that ensure you understand what the person is saying. |
| If you think the criticism has at least some value, decide what action you need to take now or the next time the situation arises. |
| Try not to take it too personally: consider the action required, not the actor. |
Well that's all the advice for now, folks. What issues at work are most upsetting for you? How do you handle them? Any thoughts to add on the items discussed here? If so, let us know and we'll add them to our ongoing discussion. Send your comments to Jane Ranshaw at jane@ranshawconsulting.com.
