The Hidden Value of Thank-You Notes

Difficult Bosses - Taming The Dragon Lady With Courage And Compassion

June 10, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

With conflict comes a sense of being disrespected, attacked or threatened in some way. We feel like the innocent victim (or perhaps the righteous hero, defending ourselves or others) and view our adversary as the villain of our story. I call this the “Drama Triangle of Conflict” - a concept that helps us understand ourselves and our role in perpetuating disputes. It also reminds us that there is always another side to the story and that our nemesis is caught up in a similar experience. Except in their story, they feel victimized or threatened and view us as the villain. Everyone is the hero in their own story.

Rely On or Ignore Intuition?

June 7, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

On the one hand, intuition — particularly for women — is often more logical than we think. Because women tend to excel at reading body language, we often pick up nonverbal cues that make us feel uneasy about certain job applicants.

Should Bad Employees Get Fired? The Debate Continues

June 5, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

Have you ever received criticism from a supervisor, boss or from someone you expected should be helping you as part as their job? I’m sure the vast majority of the workforce will answer “Yes”.

Dealing With Faraway SMEs

June 3, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

Subject matter experts (SMEs) are the people who have loads of knowledge about a particular application, domain, subject, etc. In an organization, the person designated as Subject matter expert (SME) will be a person who knows each process to be followed for a certain task and at the correct time, relevant to the context. Depending upon the nature of the subject and the vastness of the topic-at-hand, the number of experts whom you need to contact in the process of your data gathering may vary. Whatever may be the subject, SMEs guide Technical Writers (TWs) on the specified topic, help them in understanding the subject, make them write about the topic-in-hand clearly and precisely, and finally review the writer’s work in detail. After the review, the Technical Writer (TW) incorporates all the corrections pointed out by the SME and releases the final version of the subject document.

Profanity In The Workplace - Is It Acceptable?

June 1, 2008 | Filed under: General Business

I’ve noticed lately that more and more executives and employees are resorting to profanity in the workplace. I remember when not only was it unacceptable but it was just plain unprofessional to use curse words. You know the ones I am talking about. They start with ’s’ and ‘d’ and the big heavy four letter bomb that starts with ‘f’. …

Office Email Etiquette

May 30, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

The most important rule in office email etiquette is to use the email for work-related correspondence only. It’s that simple. If it isn’t related to work, you shouldn’t be using your work email; that’s what personal email accounts are for.

Finding Your Voice

May 28, 2008 | Filed under: General Business

“She found her voice?” the panel moderator stated questioningly. What does that mean? Shouldn’t she have found it by this time?

These were the questions posed by a TV program moderator after the New Hampshire primary election in the US. Of course he was referring to what the media was saying about Hilary Clinton.

A Job Passed On Is a Job Well Done!

May 26, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

I had a long meeting cancelled on me the other day. I was on my way to it travelling in busy traffic and suddenly I got a call. I managed to accept the call safely and proceeded to hear that something had come up and the meeting would need to be postponed. I know for most people, getting most the way to a meeting and then having it cancelled, might cause some internal consternation. I was certainly a little taken-aback. What now?

The Joy of Blathering

May 25, 2008 | Filed under: Careers, Workplace Communication

I love a good Dilbert carton and many times, they make me laugh out loud. Every once in a while there is one that not only makes coffee squirt out of my nose, but causes an internal dialogue or some good natured observations about myself or others.