Dealing with office politics and building positive relationships

Demonstrate work ethic; dedicated interest and loyalty, punctuality, and as far as possible adherence to the rules and regulations of the company. Spend the major part of the job time producing. It is a misconception that hard work for the company is fruitless in the absence of job incentives or rewards. Once the job is well-mastered and you have developed good work ethics, you now have better prospects. Good managers usually appreciate hard-working employees, (unless viewed as a threat!) and employees tend to be promoted to the role they are already filling.

Never join others in the persecution of the establishment; your opinion may be presented to the boss as the only voice of opposition (destructive co-workers who are quick to report others never admit their role in initiating an anti-establishment sentiment and will not hesitate to make others look bad before the boss in order to win brownie points).

Improve your knowledge and professionalism (be prepared and ahead by reading about current research findings in your areas of expertise). Be the best at what you do, no matter how small or big the job (obviously easier if well-matched with the work and role) and always let your work leave a mark of excellence.

Be the first to try new procedures. People are generally very resistant to change. Once you rise to the occasion and demonstrate adaptability, many people will join you. Management is always frustrated in trying to educate people about new procedures and protocol.

To some extent, let your work and achievements speak themselves while others blow their own trumpet. Good work should be noticed and appreciated by those appreciative of good work! Of course, it will do no harm to quietly point out to the boss what you have contributed and achieved beyond the call of duty (particularly when criticised unjustly or if s/he may be too busy to notice), but once colleagues perceive you as bragging, you may be doomed to failure.

Learn to get along and work with people who appear not to like you or whom you may not like. Work with emotional intelligence; do not personalise problems -- it is not about you, but about work! People communicate at different levels; you do not have to be intimate to work with a co-worker. Learn to know and understand colleagues individually and to not base a relationship on what was said by another person (most of negative attitudes or first impressions are based on somebody else's bias!) Determine to develop a unique, personal, diplomatic working relationship with that person instead of allowing prejudice to govern your opinion.

Never hold grudges or be vindictive -- these types of behaviors are always counter-productive! When angry over an issue, admit it to yourself, and then take corrective measures to rectify the problem. Once the problem is resolved, let the anger be deflated and let the problem be history; then move on. The more you bottle anger inside, the more you increase the chances of a regrettable emotional explosion! Try to develop shorter periods of anger when aggravated and let the matter rest as quickly as possible, because anger toward a colleague is likely to adversely impact your own work. Always find ways to deflate and diffuse crises on the job involving you and your co-workers, irrespective of who may be at fault.

Accept your imperfections. When you make error, admit it! The cardinal sin on the job is to blame somebody else for your mistakes (in a dissonant climate, the negative blame culture is pervasive). Use your errors as learning tools for education, and job improvement. This is how you turn your weaknesses into strategies for success. Know your own limitations, and know the limitations of your boss, do your best but know when to stop or ask for help. Your greatest asset on the job is your motivation to achieve and produce. No matter what your job is, always let your work leave a mark of excellence.

Never join hands to persecute a co-worker or a newcomer. One of the most destructive, uncivilised and unethical behaviours on the job is the refusal to accept a new employee. Collective persecution of an employee is commonplace in a problematic working environment just because we need a scapegoat! Indeed, try to be a negotiator and mediator between feuding workers when problems are brewing. However, remember that playing this role makes you vulnerable to attacks by others who thrive on the emotional energy ignited by crisis and who may feel cheated of their kill.

Do not bring personal problems to work or take out your own personal failures or problems on colleagues. If a professional and you have problems with your spouse, you will seek professional help or talk to a trusted friend.

Those who persecute others are often the ones who do the least on the job (a political strategy to cover their own inadequacies). Many times these types excel and move up the corporate ladder, but because they lack compassion for others, their achievements are always short-lived and they often leave a wake of negativity and dissonance. Never destroy co-workers' work or denigrate them to elevate your status. If well-suited to your work you will excel on your own merit.

Learn to identify and deal with thrill seekers of crisis. Once a problem is solved, they will create yet another and then another; these chronic pleasure seekers do not stop but continue finding something else to moan and yell about. Know when to time-out with such people. As a rule, as long as these people are kept busy and given numerous assignments, their energies to craft crisis or do havoc will be depleted! Don't react to these people as nuisances on the job, which chronic complainers can be, but consider them energetic people, looking for challenges; a manager should assign them to solve the problems in question!

Avoid bullying and never embark in a shouting match however angry you feel; find a nice and diplomatic way to resolve the problems. Emotional outburst can be counter-productive on the job and verbal confrontation can even lead to other forms of physical violence. Find a neutral ground to negotiate issues with the boss or co-workers. When negotiation fails, learn to compromise; when compromise fails, learn to agree to disagree. Learn to approach others about job related issues without either intimidation or being intimidated.

When you feel intense anger or hate towards an individual on the job, immediately look inside yourself. True enough, somebody may have created a problem for you but the intensity of your reaction is usually based on emotional amplification by pre-existing problems. Looking inside yourself is not to encourage self-flagellation but to evaluate whether the anger is targeted towards the wrong person or situation. Self-awareness is vital in understanding interpersonal relationships.

Learn to respond without emotion to stressful situations. This is not a strategy that is learned overnight; it is a skill which has to be mastered. For example, instead of getting into a shouting match with an irate co-worker, lower your voice; the aggressor may lower his or her voice to the point of sensible conversation. Learn to channel negative energies to positive outlets.

You may want to with everybody on the job, but that may not happen all the time. Set a limit on how much you will take from an abuser. Relate problems to such a co-worker in a professional way with a neutral tone of voice. For example, if a co-worker is in the habit of yelling at you, make it clear you don't appreciate such as unprofessional style of communication. If the behavior continues, let others witness it. You can take it to the manager, but try all other diplomatic avenues to resolve the issue and never take a problem to the manager without having two or three solutions for the problem.

Learn to shield yourself from the emotional abuse of such people by limiting interaction primarily to work. If the situation gets too hard to handle because of chaos, ask for a transfer or look for an exit door and find a new job. Do not wait until you are completely broken down (many of my clients have come following breakdowns resulting form politics and abuse). Know the danger signs (your body will tell you) and when to quit. Dealing with "hard nuts to crack" is not easy. Such workers have compulsive obsessive behavior leading sometimes to exaggerated responses to trivial issues. These types of people either have emotional problems or are still emotionally immature. The problem in such people have been tolerated for so long that it is hard for them to change.

Deal with an ego-driven manager with diplomacy. Some supervisors may believe that they are better than others and that co-workers should be subservient to them, but if you treat your boss as a god, you will pay a painful price because you open yourself to abuse. An effective manager will treat you with respect and you should reciprocate. Consider also that a control freak may in fact be a stressed perfectionist trying to do a job correctly!

Treat your customers with respect and kindness. The emotional intelligence, charm, vision and empathy of the CEO has been shown to directly impact not only the culture of the whole organisation, but also the bottom line productivity of the company! Welcome them with a smile and a friendly greeting. Customers love being recognised and they will feel more comfortable doing business with your company compared to when they are treated like intruders. Never complain to a customer about problems you have in getting things done, it denigrates the quality of your service.

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings, they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos...then you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation.

Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

A person who smiles in the face of adversity...probably has a scapegoat.

Plagiarism saves time.

If at first you don't succeed, try management.

Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

TEAMWORK...means never having to take all the blame yourself.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.

We waste time, so you don't have to.

Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!

Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

A snooze button is a poor substitute for no alarm clock at all.

When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break.

INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.

Succeed in spite of management.

Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.