Nick, an employee, chews his gum so loudly that his co-workers and colleagues have moved their desks to avoid the noise. Some have gone the indirect, passive-aggressive route of responding ‘in-kind’ - chewing gum as loudly as Nick does. Phillip, the manager has received these complaints and has decided to talk to Nick. (13:00 minutes)
Click here to download as an MP3
Lessons Learned
- Is this the right conversation?- No. A Courageous Conversation needs to happen between those directly involved in this dispute.
- Be direct - Come right out and say, “here is what I have noticed” or “here is the issue for today.”
- How do we solve this? - Make it a problem-solving session, rather than the manager needing to come up with all the solutions.
- "I appreciate that." - A good way to demonstrate that Phillip is hearing and acknowledging Nick’s reasons for chewing gum.
Comments