Walk The Talk Chock full of resources to inspire, motivate, encourage, and challenge you!

Interpersonal Conflicts … When There’s No Time for Planning

It’s bound to happen. Sooner or later you’ll be caught off guard – finding yourself smack dab in the middle of an unexpected conflict with someone on your team. You’re in it before you know it, and there’s no time for formulating a well-thought-out resolution strategy. You’ve got to respond in some way, and you have to do it NOW! What do you do? How can you keep the situation from escalating and ending up some-where you DON’T want to be? Here are a few suggestions:

1.  Stop, breath, and think. Stop whatever you’re doing, take a couple of deep breaths to control your tension, and then immediately (and quickly) think about exactly what you need to do and say next.
2. Acknowledge the conflict by saying something like: Michael, I’m sensing that there are some issues between the two of us that we need to talk through, or, Kim, I’m feeling that I might have done something to upset you. Can we talk about it?
3. Buy some time. Suggest that you meet at a later time that day (or the following day) so that you both have an opportunity to relax a little and gather your thoughts. If the other person agrees, use the time to prepare for the meeting. If the person doesn’t agree on a time delay …
4. Take it somewhere else (if other coworkers are present). That way, you’ll avoid disrupting the rest of the group – and you’ll eliminate any temptations you and the other person might have to “showboat” or maintain some bogus image in front of your teammates. Suggest a different venue with words such as: It’s best for everyone if we keep this just between us. Where else would you feel comfortable talking? 
5.  Keep it respectful.  Do your absolute best to conduct yourself in a calm and respectful manner – regardless of how the other person responds. Will it be easy? Of course not! But that doesn’t change the fact that although you can’t control what others do, you certainly can (and do) control your own behavior.

Today’s solution is from What to Do When CONFLICT HAPPENS

By Eric Harvey & Steve Ventura

Time, indeed, is a sacred gift, and each day
is a little life.
  ~John Lubbock

Today’s quote comes to you from To a Child, Love Is Spelled T-I-M-E 

Taking time for yourself should never
be seen as a burden. Not on you, and
not on anyone else.
  ~Elizabeth Franklin

  Today’s quote comes to you from Her Inspiration:  Secrets to Help You Work Smart, Be Successful, and Have Fun

Do you experience miscommunication at work? Have you ever wished that you could discuss issues more effectively with your boss, coworkers, or clients? In Communication Miracles at Work, workplace consultant Matthew Gilbert explores a variety of communication issues and provides you with the skills you need to build stronger relationships and turn difficult workplace experiences into opportunities for growth. If you’re ready to build better relationships at work, understand others better as well as have them understand you, then this practical and informative book is for you!


To Your Success,

Eric Harvey

Excerpted from Communication Miracles at Work
How often have you thought to yourself something like, “If for once Mr. X seriously listened to my ideas, it would be a miracle!”? Well, miracles come in large and small packages, and whether or not something really is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs” (according to Mr. Webster), it can seem that way. And besides, what to call it is less important than the fact that a breakthrough is made or an old pattern is shaken up.

This book, then, is about how to achieve those breakthrough moments, whether they be with coworkers, the boss, a client, or inside of you. It’s about the challenges of and opportunities for getting what we want while serving our employer’s mission, and how communication can become a tool for achieving workplace harmony and workplace results. It’s for people who want to make a difference, who are tired of playing games and are willing to take some risks. You will learn about good and bad communication, the roll of gender, how to deal with specific situations, and what your own obstacles to being an effective communicator are. You will become more aware of what you are bringing to your on-the-job interactions with others and what others are bringing to you. With this new awareness, you can start making new choices and turn almost any workplace encounter into an opportunity for personal growth, professional success, and a feeling of communal well-being.

Communication Miracles at Work

Communication Miracles at Work is about experiencing breakthrough moments of connectedness and understanding with co-workers, managers, staff members, and clients.

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the
handcuffs of hate.
~William Ward

Today’s quote comes to you from The Power of Attitude: One Little Difference That Always Makes a Big Difference

High-integrity workplaces don’t get that way by accident, coincidence, or luck. They’re molded, shaped, and built by leaders at all levels.
  ~Eric Harvey

Today’s quote comes to you from  Leading to Ethics: 

10 Leadership Strategies for Building a High-Integrity Organization

High-integrity workplaces don’t get that way by accident, coincidence, or luck. They’re molded, shaped, and built by leaders at all levels.
  ~Eric Harvey

Today’s quote comes to you from  Leading to Ethics: 

10 Leadership Strategies for Building a High-Integrity Organization

Making Your Mission Matter

Here’s one you can take to the bank: When it comes to being in sync with your overall business purpose, there are no breaks … no rest periods … no time outs. Each action – by each team member, each day – either supports your organization’s mission or it doesn’t. And that fact leads to an important question that each of us needs to ponder: Could someone who knows nothing about my organization correctly guess what our mission is merely by observing MY daily actions and behaviors – and those of my team members? Here are a few things you can do to help ensure your answer to that question is a resounding “yes”:

• Start each day with the mission. Write your organization’s (and/or team’s) mission on a small, pocket-size index card. Pull out the card and read it at the beginning of each work day to remind yourself of why you’re there and what your activities need to be geared toward.
• Pursue “in a way that” solutions. When determining how your team will approach tasks and decisions, ask: “How can we do this in a way that is in line with, and supports, our mission?”Make that caveat a regularly used component of your action-planning vocabulary.
• When you see something that needs to be done, DO IT – even if it doesn’t fall within your direct responsibility. Encourage all of your team members to do the same. Fact is, making sure the mission “happens” is everyone’s responsibility!
• If you see a member of your team (or a colleague) doing something that’s out of sync with the mission, have the courage to speak up. Tactfully challenge him or her, and offer your assistance in finding (and implementing) an alternate approach. Most importantly, make sure your coworkers know that you expect them to do the same thing with you!

Cooperation gets teams pulling together. Staying focused on the organization’s mission ensures they pull in the right direction.
~ Eric Harvey

Today’s solution is from Five Star Teamwork

By Steve Ventura & Michelle Correia Templin

You will find it easier to do a single, small piece of a large project than to start on the whole job.
~Brian Trac

Today’s quote comes to you from  Eat That Frog!  21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Make the most of every sense; glory in all
of the pleasures and beauty which the world reveals to you.
  ~Helen Keller

Today’s quote comes to you from  Quiet Mind:  One-Minute Retreats from a Busy World