Originally posted on The Savvy Intern
The world of office politics can be eye-opening and daunting to young professionals. And as many workplace veterans might tell you: there are certain lessons that can only be learned as you actually experience them.
You won’t really know what it feels like to be fired, for instance, until you go through it yourself (believe me, you learn a lot).
You can, however, educate and prepare yourself for difficult workplace conversations by using these seven tips:
Don’t Ignore the Warning Signs
Too often we ignore issues or frustrations because we’re not sure how to approach them. If you’re having a difficult time doing your job because of someone or something, you need to deal with it… it will not just go away.
However, first make sure you seek to understand the real issue. Failing to consider the core issues before you launch into a conversation to fix them, in many cases, means you’ll be working on the symptoms instead of the root cause of the problem.
Don’t Confuse Personality Issues with Workplace Issues
At some point in your career, you’ll have to work with someone who rubs you the wrong way. When this happens, step back for a moment to ask yourself:
“Are they actually impacting my job, or is this simply a personality issue?”
But the truth is you won’t, and don’t have to like everyone. But a good dose of compassion comes in very handy here… and help you avoid a conversation that doesn’t have to happen.
Understand the Boundaries You Need
Often, workplace distraction rears its head in the form of broken boundaries.
The best way to halt the encroachment of necessary boundaries, whether it’s on your personal space or your workload, is to make sure you draw the line firmly from the beginning. Because sometimes, before we know it, those lines are blurred anyway.
So what makes you less productive? What distractions are affecting your focus and production? What boundaries do you need to establish, or re-establish, in order to be most efficient?
continue reading… The Savvy Intern