Solutions For Good

I turned to two colleagues next to me, who looked stunned, and said,  “Being respectful and professional is never underrated”. I had just been loudly and aggressively rebuked by a colleague during a very large community event, in front of others. She barked these words after being difficult, non-communicative, planning poorly and generally not being on the ball for months. Now in the heat of the event, she is snapping at me in front of our colleagues and guests. Lovely. I ignored her, and addressed my younger colleagues who witnessed it instead. I figured it was more important to invest in their development in that moment and frankly, it was a way to steady myself -- “When they go low…” Thank you again, Mrs. Obama! Would I choose to work with her again? Or refer her to someone else. No way! I think of my friend Candace often, who will literally shrug her shoulders and swipe negativity with the back of her hand, off of her body when she interacts with such a person... and...

There was a tall woman in a blue camouflage Navy uniform, with a commanding presence, coming out of the ladies room as I entered. I bumped into her. We had just finished a meeting. I said to her, “If people in my life, ran meetings like you do, my work would be so much easier.”  I thought she’d nod and keep going. She stopped and talked with me for about 5 minutes in the privacy of the women’s bathroom at a Navy command center.  Conversations meander in meetings. It is a hard job to keep the conversation focused. We laughed about it and also cringed a little. How about when it just goes on and on? Ugh. And nothing gets accomplished? UGH. We discussed that meeting management can be one of the hardest aspects of working in teams, but also one of the most important. I learn and improve from people like this woman, who show me how to run meetings efficiently and effectively. Here I share my observations of her style, a few other tips and 2 helpful articles for more guidance....