How to Live With Office Politics without Losing Your Cool - The word 'politics' is often misunderstood. Most people think that it just involves only those elected into power or individuals that are engaged in some form of power play in the top ranks of the government. They are right in the sense that it involves ways on how people manage power but wrong in thinking that it is limited to governments only.
In fact, politics is everywhere, be it in school, home, and in the office. It is something that we cannot escape. It is politics when we try to tell our teacher that one of our classmates is trying to get ahead in class by sucking up to another professor. It is politics when a sibling tells his parents that his sister deserves to go to the prom. Anything that has something to do with social interaction, negotiation, and compromise is politics.
Thus, it should not be a surprise when this is present in your office – the one place where competition is palpable and very much expected.
So, you are promoted general manager. Naturally, you are ecstatic, and you begin telling all your co-workers how excited you are with your new duties. Everyone seems happy for you except for a group of colleagues who do extend their congratulations but are not convincing enough to believe that they actually mean it.
At first, it does not really bother you as you move on to your new duties as a higher-ranking officer. However, you suddenly hear stories about how you tried to ditch work to watch your favorite game months back or how you mistakenly logged in a customer's information under a different one when you were just starting out in the company.
Why are all these coming out now? You might wonder. What's it for?
Welcome to the world of office politics; where nobody, not even the nicest person in the group, is spared from intrigue and tiny 'stories'! This should not be a surprise to you because any office setting really has some level of competition involved. When competition is present, jealousy can set in and silently wreak its havoc among staff.
In this case, the best way is to learn how to deal with it. There are many methods you can apply to rise above all the backbiting and shallow criticism. These all boil down to one single advice: ignore them and do your job the best you can. If you fight back, chances are, conflict will escalate, and more people will get involved.
You come to work not to be bothered with petty comments from other people. So just do your job and deliberately turn a deaf ear to politics. It will not do you any good to listen and allow these to affect you. Remember, if you succumb to office politics, your job will be at risk, not theirs.
Office politics is always present. Decide to rise above its pettiness and prove that you are more professional than the rest of the pack.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Five Things You Can Do To Resolve Conflicts
Disagreements are inevitable.
Because each human being is equipped with the facility to think for himself or herself, it is but natural that nobody really sees eye-to-eye at all times. However, because we sometimes passionately want other people to share our view, we often end up fighting with them. While disagreeing on some points is healthy in human communication, too much conflict and bad blood between people could also lead to pain and destruction.
You can get rid of the pressure of conflict at the onset. Before you go hating and finding yourself friendless, try these five tips to prevent communication problems from escalating to uncontrollable levels:
1) Talk it over.
You will not be able to resolve anything if you keep raising your voice a notch higher every time the other person does. Before you know it, you will be engaged in a screaming match and you do not even know why and how you got there. People tend to blurt out hurtful things they do not really mean during a heated argument. It is, thus, prudent and less stressful for both parties to talk the issue over. If you find that you cannot talk to the other person calmly just yet, suggest time off, and then meet at another time, when heads are cooler and rationalities are calmer.
2) Make a list.
Before you go banging on the other person's door, make a list of the things you need to say or ask. Write this list while you are still calm and stick to it once you have finally faced the other person. More importantly, go over it with your head intact. It is possible to resolve a conflict while keeping integrity intact.
3) Think happy thoughts.
When you find yourself about to get into a heated word war with another person, pause for a moment and think about the things that you are about to say. Try to distract yourself by thinking about the good things this other person has done for you, even in the smallest of ways. Once you have doused water over your growing fire, only then will you be able to discuss matters with him or her in a rational way.
4) Do not respond to his or her banter.
If the other person cannot seem to control himself or herself, do not aggravate the situation by being the same way. Listen and talk only after he or she is finished. Chances are, once he or she has said his or her piece, the air will be much calmer.
5) Try making a joke.
This is good only if the issue is not too grave and if you know the other person very well. Some people might misinterpret your humor as making fun of their situation, so tread carefully.
There is no disagreement that cannot be solved if you resort to rational means. Spitting out obscenities and foul words will not make the other person understand you better.
However, if you sit down, learn to listen, and then calmly explain your side (without forcing your ideas upon the other party) - you will both arrive at a compromise or a situation that benefits you both. It might not be the best for either of you at that moment.
At least, it is something that you can start working on to come up with a win-win situation.
Because each human being is equipped with the facility to think for himself or herself, it is but natural that nobody really sees eye-to-eye at all times. However, because we sometimes passionately want other people to share our view, we often end up fighting with them. While disagreeing on some points is healthy in human communication, too much conflict and bad blood between people could also lead to pain and destruction.
You can get rid of the pressure of conflict at the onset. Before you go hating and finding yourself friendless, try these five tips to prevent communication problems from escalating to uncontrollable levels:
1) Talk it over.
You will not be able to resolve anything if you keep raising your voice a notch higher every time the other person does. Before you know it, you will be engaged in a screaming match and you do not even know why and how you got there. People tend to blurt out hurtful things they do not really mean during a heated argument. It is, thus, prudent and less stressful for both parties to talk the issue over. If you find that you cannot talk to the other person calmly just yet, suggest time off, and then meet at another time, when heads are cooler and rationalities are calmer.
2) Make a list.
Before you go banging on the other person's door, make a list of the things you need to say or ask. Write this list while you are still calm and stick to it once you have finally faced the other person. More importantly, go over it with your head intact. It is possible to resolve a conflict while keeping integrity intact.
3) Think happy thoughts.
When you find yourself about to get into a heated word war with another person, pause for a moment and think about the things that you are about to say. Try to distract yourself by thinking about the good things this other person has done for you, even in the smallest of ways. Once you have doused water over your growing fire, only then will you be able to discuss matters with him or her in a rational way.
4) Do not respond to his or her banter.
If the other person cannot seem to control himself or herself, do not aggravate the situation by being the same way. Listen and talk only after he or she is finished. Chances are, once he or she has said his or her piece, the air will be much calmer.
5) Try making a joke.
This is good only if the issue is not too grave and if you know the other person very well. Some people might misinterpret your humor as making fun of their situation, so tread carefully.
There is no disagreement that cannot be solved if you resort to rational means. Spitting out obscenities and foul words will not make the other person understand you better.
However, if you sit down, learn to listen, and then calmly explain your side (without forcing your ideas upon the other party) - you will both arrive at a compromise or a situation that benefits you both. It might not be the best for either of you at that moment.
At least, it is something that you can start working on to come up with a win-win situation.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
10 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem
10 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem:
Perhaps one of the most important questions in your mind is how to improve your self-esteem.
It makes no difference whether you pursue it actively or unconsciously, what matters is the effort to work on improving your self-esteem. However, the problem lies on where you want to begin. Seemingly, you are working on the outside indicators.
Here are ten tips on how you can improve your self-esteem:
1. Increase your self-esteem. Try to come up with a list. What aspects of your self do you really want to change? Work on one aspect at a time. Find out how you are doing before proceeding to another aspect.
2. Be optimistic. Do not think negatively about where you are right now. Always project self-confidence in where you might end up in the coming days.
3. Set concrete goals in all your dealings. Write your goals and desires. Consider how people you will be interacting with can help you accomplish your goals. Afterwards make a decision on how you will deal with each person appropriately. Do this regularly and you will see some changes.
4. Be proactive. Do not wait for things to happen, instead make things happen. Fuel your determination. Let other people know in what aspect they can help you. Success comes to individuals who get down to business.
5. Make each person feel that he is significant. Eventually, you will see amazing results.
6. Expand your social networks. Join social clubs or organizations. In effect, more contacts will be added to your list of friends. Social contacts can give you an assurance that you can depend on others in times of crisis.
7. Learn a sport or hobby. Indulging in sports or hobbies can help improve your self-confidence. Likewise, it can help you maintain good health. Good health leads to a sound body and a healthy mind. A sound body and a healthy mind play a major role in improving your self-esteem.
8. Enroll in self-improvement classes. If your main problem lies in not knowing where to begin, attending classes or seminars on self-improvement can provide you with step by step knowledge on how to improve your self-esteem. If that proves too burdensome to you, you may also read some books on self-esteem. There are also plenty of CDs and tapes focusing on the topic of self-help that you may want to consider.
9. Have a change in atmosphere. If the current environment you are living in causes you to have low self-esteem, consider moving to another location. You may also want to do some changes in your current environment. A change in environment can provide you with several benefits. It can add versatility to your personality and more importantly, it can contribute in changing the way you look at your self.
10. Be contented and happy. Failures and disappointments can result to low self-esteem. When your goals and objectives are not met, chances are you get frustrated and you become negative about your capabilities. Being contented and happy may fuel your determination to succeed. Determination may help in boosting your self-esteem.
Improving self-esteem does not happen in a wink of an eye. It would take a while before you notice some changes happening.
The process will go beyond tips and pointers that you read in books or internet. It requires constant practice to see some improvements.
In the end, you will realize that an improved self-esteem will benefit you in all aspects of your life. You will experience change in your relationships with your family, dealings with friends, and more importantly, improvement of yourself.
Perhaps one of the most important questions in your mind is how to improve your self-esteem.
It makes no difference whether you pursue it actively or unconsciously, what matters is the effort to work on improving your self-esteem. However, the problem lies on where you want to begin. Seemingly, you are working on the outside indicators.
Here are ten tips on how you can improve your self-esteem:
1. Increase your self-esteem. Try to come up with a list. What aspects of your self do you really want to change? Work on one aspect at a time. Find out how you are doing before proceeding to another aspect.
2. Be optimistic. Do not think negatively about where you are right now. Always project self-confidence in where you might end up in the coming days.
3. Set concrete goals in all your dealings. Write your goals and desires. Consider how people you will be interacting with can help you accomplish your goals. Afterwards make a decision on how you will deal with each person appropriately. Do this regularly and you will see some changes.
4. Be proactive. Do not wait for things to happen, instead make things happen. Fuel your determination. Let other people know in what aspect they can help you. Success comes to individuals who get down to business.
5. Make each person feel that he is significant. Eventually, you will see amazing results.
6. Expand your social networks. Join social clubs or organizations. In effect, more contacts will be added to your list of friends. Social contacts can give you an assurance that you can depend on others in times of crisis.
7. Learn a sport or hobby. Indulging in sports or hobbies can help improve your self-confidence. Likewise, it can help you maintain good health. Good health leads to a sound body and a healthy mind. A sound body and a healthy mind play a major role in improving your self-esteem.
8. Enroll in self-improvement classes. If your main problem lies in not knowing where to begin, attending classes or seminars on self-improvement can provide you with step by step knowledge on how to improve your self-esteem. If that proves too burdensome to you, you may also read some books on self-esteem. There are also plenty of CDs and tapes focusing on the topic of self-help that you may want to consider.
9. Have a change in atmosphere. If the current environment you are living in causes you to have low self-esteem, consider moving to another location. You may also want to do some changes in your current environment. A change in environment can provide you with several benefits. It can add versatility to your personality and more importantly, it can contribute in changing the way you look at your self.
10. Be contented and happy. Failures and disappointments can result to low self-esteem. When your goals and objectives are not met, chances are you get frustrated and you become negative about your capabilities. Being contented and happy may fuel your determination to succeed. Determination may help in boosting your self-esteem.
Improving self-esteem does not happen in a wink of an eye. It would take a while before you notice some changes happening.
The process will go beyond tips and pointers that you read in books or internet. It requires constant practice to see some improvements.
In the end, you will realize that an improved self-esteem will benefit you in all aspects of your life. You will experience change in your relationships with your family, dealings with friends, and more importantly, improvement of yourself.
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