It seems speaking up is (finally) getting the traction it deserves. Whether it’s calling out sexist behaviour or airing a systemic wrong that has flourished unchecked for years, plain speaking is definitely having a moment. Julia Banks’ high-profile defection to the federal parliament crossbench a few days ago, and her eloquent speech about bullying in the Liberal ranks in […]
Manipulators in everyday life are not necessarily bad people. You might admire or even love a manipulator (they are frequently found in family contexts), but feel tormented by their constant conniving. I’ve dealt with a variety of difficult people over recent weeks, like the needy, controlling and aggressive, or the disrespectful, moody and procrastination-prone, but for many of […]
What a hot topic. Everyone seems to be handling a difficult person — whether it is a staff member, team colleague, customer or their manager. Or they have a difficult person in their personal lives. Certain types of difficult people affect us more than others. For example: Angry, aggressive, abusive, bullying; Moody, tired, depressed, teary; Uncommitted, unmotivated, […]
“One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch, girl” is a puzzling aphorism, but perhaps the Osmonds were just being hopeful. Eighteenth-century inventor Benjamin Franklin saw it the other way — “the rotten apple spoils his companion”. Apples give off ethylene, so as one rots, the others begin to as well, and before you know it, […]
One of the most common places to meet a new partner or start a love relationship is at work. It’s hard enough finding a special someone, is it really that unreasonable to find that person at your place of work? How many organisations have partners comfortably working under the same roof, and may have even […]
The old saying “never complain, never explain” could be changed to “never blame, never complain”, but would people ever do this? Of course not. Blaming and complaining causes stress We all do our best, but standards and expectations vary. It often boils down to the fact that while people might share a common language, there are codes, […]
You can walk into any workplace and know pretty quickly how good its team morale is — especially after a few days off for some public holidays. How often does a charismatic leader stride into a room, spray sparkly ideals and directions and have everyone dazed in some kind of afterglow? Rarely! Often those in […]
Can I be of assistance? You hear that a lot, often when you haven’t asked for it. Very often it’s part of a call centre script; the consultant’s bot-like responses are the giveaway. Or you’re shopping, and there’s a retail assistant helicoptering when you want to be left alone. These aren’t exercises in being helpful, […]
Adam Grant has a terrific TED Talk about “givers”, “takers” and “matchers” in the workplace. The descriptions are self-evident to some degree: we all know those who really do go out of their way to help others versus those who are much more interested in what others can do for them. The matcher The “matcher”, according to […]
