Avoid the Office Minefield

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ WRITTEN BY PAM WEISS {Add entry before publishing}
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• Scenario: Huge generation gap between employees and management at a creative start-up. (Read: Different working styles, different work ethic, different idea of what a workday consists of.)
• Category: Workplace transformations
• Advisor: Pam Weiss

The key here is to open up to learn about your employees. Not just to understand their views and opinions about work, but to discover what they really care about. What’s appealing and engaging to them? What are their dreams and aspirations? What do they love doing? Who do they want to become?

One of the things social science tells us about younger generations is that they tend to be less inspired by external rewards and punishment and more by what author Daniel Pink calls “intrinsic motivation”— the passion and fire that come from within.

So listen with an open mind. Be curious. Be surprised. If you bring your full care and attention to each conversation, you’ll begin building the bridge to span the gap. This kind of listening illuminates connectedness—there are differences among generations, but we’re all dealing with the same challenges, stressors, ambitions—and it opens the possibility of discovering options and opportunities we might never have imagined.

Pam Weiss is an executive coach and founder of Appropriate Response

“If you bring your full care and attention to each conversation, you’ll begin building the bridge to span the gap.” Pam Weiss

• Scenario: A boss who talks negatively about members of staff with other members of staff without regard to reporting structure. (Read: My boss gossips about me with people who report to me.)
• Category: Managing up
• Advisor: Michael Carroll

It’s tough to “manage up,” to help your bosses be better at what they do. This is a precarious situation that’s likely to involve an awkward conversation if you choose to speak to your boss. But doing so with care is the brave thing to do. It’s also the most helpful.

When you head into the corner office for this tête-à-tête, be honest. It’s key to address not only the boss’s recklessness but also how you are feeling when bringing such information to light. Try something like: “Jennifer, I have to tell you, bringing this issue to your attention is very distressing for me. I’m feeling quite nervous and a little worried. But I also think it’s important for you to hear this….”

Openly expressing your anxiety and unease up front achieves two powerful things: it instantly makes the moment less organizational and more human, which can sidestep a possible workplace confrontation, and it improves the chances that you’ll genuinely be heard.

Michael Carroll is the author of The Mindful Leader: Awakening Your Natural Management Skills Through Mindfulness Meditation

This article also appeared in the April 2013 issue of Mindful magazine.

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