The Power Of Your Word – Part 2 : Conflict in the Workplace
Toxic Office Politics
You’ve heard people say, “Yeah, she’s a real bitch.”
Unfortunately, this kind of label will undo all the relationships you’ve been building.
One VP was particularly nasty with her employees and eviscerated people when she got angry. She was seen as a bully by her coworkers. They tolerated their job for years, but eventually the company was bought and this small group of employees banded together. Their gossip reached the senior management directing the company merger, and she was made redundant when the merger was completed.
Toxic office politics might come in the form of a well-placed piece of gossip—
the kind that keeps you from being considered for that major position or that big contract.
Why?
Because you’ve indelibly put in others’ minds one toxic thought: “I know who you really are.”
You can permanently break others’ trust in you and become the brunt of office politics gossip.
The Wrong Way to Argue
An executive life coaching client came in with a letter from a Senior VP that read,
“Until you admit to yourself that you’re wrong, this was all you.
You need to take responsibility for all of this. There is nothing more to discuss.”
What’s wrong with this statement?
You might think “Everything!”
How could anyone be so shortsighted as to say this and expect to resolve anything?
The bottom line is that even if everything said is true, it’s being said in a way that makes the reader feel pinned down, like a chokehold in a wrestling match. The reader loses face and feels powerless.
They’re the loser of the argument, and they feel humiliated, embarrassed, and ashamed.