13.07.2015 Views

Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Managing Sticky Situations at Work

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

160 <strong>Managing</strong> <strong>Sticky</strong> <strong>Situ<strong>at</strong>ions</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>Work</strong>might cause a problem in the office. Before Belinda came, there werethree marketing executives including their boss, all men. Belinda madeevery effort to fit in as one of the boys and not to make her femininitytoo obvious. If she reports Brad, her rel<strong>at</strong>ionship with everyone willchange.PERSONALITY OVERLAYBelinda recognizes Brad’s Expressive personality. He craves beingthe center of <strong>at</strong>tention. He’s personable and easy to talk with. Heoften makes jokes. He draws others to him like a bee to honey. Oneof the reasons Brad excels in his work is th<strong>at</strong> clients enjoy his personality.His Expressiveness enables him to win friends, but it also causeshim to say things th<strong>at</strong> he should not say. He does not think beforehe opens his mouth. She’s noticed th<strong>at</strong> she is not the only person Bradhas offended with his indiscreet tongue.Belinda, on the other hand, has some Expressive characteristics, butshe is more of a Bold. She dislikes Brad’s constant talk. She wondershow she’ll stand being on the airplane with him if he decides to ch<strong>at</strong>with her the entire 18 hours. She recognizes her own imp<strong>at</strong>ience,but she also knows th<strong>at</strong> to make this trip tolerable for both of them,she’ll have to adapt her style. She can’t expect Brad to change.SAY IT JUST RIGHT CONVERSATIONBelinda walks into Brad’s cubicle and sits down. ‘‘We’ve got totalk.’’He looks <strong>at</strong> her and grins. ‘‘I’m all ears. Wh<strong>at</strong> do you want to talk tome about?’’‘‘Before we go to Singapore, it would be good for us to set someground rules.’’He leans back and sighs. ‘‘This is going to be a glorious trip. I can’twait to get you all to myself.’’She glares <strong>at</strong> him. ‘‘Th<strong>at</strong>’s exactly wh<strong>at</strong> I’m talking about. I am notinterested in playing games with you—’’‘‘Whoa, an angry woman. I love it. You know your eyes get bluerwhen you’re mad. How ’bout we duke it out?’’She takes a bre<strong>at</strong>h. ‘‘Brad, I’m not joking here. We’re going to betogether for many hours during this trip. It can be a gre<strong>at</strong> experiencefor us or it can be horrific. It’s your choice.’’

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!