Found this on I Hope This Old Train Breaks Down and love it!
- “If an issue is contentious, always talk it over in person rather than discussing it over emails. Emails escalate situations unnecessarily quickly.
- Within 60 seconds of talking to someone, find something that you can (genuinely) praise them for; this will help them to open up to what you have to say.
- If you do some casual “pre-talking” to people about their opinions before group meetings, you can help them to trim their thoughts down to key points, and therefore save time during the actual meeting / prevent drawn-out discussions. Most of the time people just want their detailed thoughts to be heard, but it does not have to be by the whole group.
- In the middle of mediating a conflict, giving someone recognition for something that they do well will help to immediately cool the situation.
- Ultimately, if you have to make a decision that is unpopular, you should explain the reasoning behind it and model your conviction in action.
- Early planning and specific, timely communication will both help to avoid avoidable conflicts.
- My personal relationship with IT, admin, facilities, etc. will have a bearing on my department’s relationship with them!!”
