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Managing Sticky Situations at Work

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172 <strong>Managing</strong> <strong>Sticky</strong> <strong>Situ<strong>at</strong>ions</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>Work</strong>‘‘I have no problem with th<strong>at</strong> so long as we’re clear. It can get confusingnowadays, and I don’t want either of us to get frustr<strong>at</strong>ed. Someguys feel as if they must pay for everything. And, th<strong>at</strong>’s just not fair.’’(Joins feeling with fact.)He says, ‘‘I do have a tendency to be a bit old fashioned. But, I’velearned th<strong>at</strong> most of you modern women want to pay your own way.Th<strong>at</strong>’s fine with me. I’m glad we had this discussion so we both knowwh<strong>at</strong> to do before we depart next week. Thank you for initi<strong>at</strong>ing it.’’‘‘I also appreci<strong>at</strong>e your candor. I’m really excited about this trip, andIwanteverythingtogowell.Justtoclarify,then,I’llplantogomyown way after the present<strong>at</strong>ion. If we share meals together, I’ll payyou for wh<strong>at</strong>ever exceeds our meal allowances. Does th<strong>at</strong> soundright?’’ (Summarizes the resolution.)‘‘Good deal.’’ANALYSISIt doesn’t take long for Louisa to realize th<strong>at</strong> Dr. Marshall is a Symp<strong>at</strong>hetic.Once she told him she wanted permission to go her own way,and he responded, ‘‘I just assumed ...’’ she knew she was likely notdealing with a Technical. Technicals leave little to chance.R<strong>at</strong>her than specify a problem as is often the case in sticky situ<strong>at</strong>ions,Louisa specifies an issue. She is looking for clarity. To do th<strong>at</strong>, shemust use the same skills, but she applies them in a different manner.Specify the Problem. Louisa first specified the issue of clarific<strong>at</strong>ion,and then she continued to push until she felt the issue had clarity.Invite the Other Person to Talk. This situ<strong>at</strong>ion was nonconfront<strong>at</strong>ionaland one th<strong>at</strong> required a joint solution. Louisa invited Dr. Marshallto share wh<strong>at</strong> had been done in the past and to clarify for herwh<strong>at</strong> he expected of her. He made it clear they would ‘‘work thingsout together.’’ When he suggested he might buy her a glass of wine,it showed her th<strong>at</strong> the procedures were not so cut and dried.Join Feelings with Fact. Louisa explained th<strong>at</strong> she wanted to avoidneg<strong>at</strong>ive feelings and th<strong>at</strong> was why she initi<strong>at</strong>ed the convers<strong>at</strong>ion. Hisappreci<strong>at</strong>ive response told her she made the right decision.Resolve the Issue. When the issue is clarific<strong>at</strong>ion, it helps to summarizewh<strong>at</strong> has been resolved <strong>at</strong> the end as we saw Louisa do.CONCLUSIONIn this chapter we looked <strong>at</strong> four sticky etiquette situ<strong>at</strong>ions. TheDecision Points phase of the SIJR Model is always important because

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