Fri, October 09, 2009 - 8:59:25

Become a Winning Team

Unless you work in a very specialized profession or happen to live in a remote part of the world, chances are that your job involves teaming up with your coworkers and collaborating on projects.  So, when you’re paired with a partner who is constantly missing deadlines, getting the data wrong, or simply not pulling his or her weight, you might start to feel like your own career is being sabotaged.  But, as Amy Gallo writes in her post on Management Essentials, learning to assess and address your coworkers’ weaknesses in a NICE way is vital to your shared success.

Although your coworker’s repeated mistakes may feel like a covert attack on your professional reputation, Allan Cohen, the author of Influence without Authority, cautions that assuming ill-will should always be your last resort.  Even though your coworker’s failures hurt you as a result, instances where employees underperform on purpose are few and far between.  So, instead of assuming the worst and bad-mouthing your colleague, step back and assess the situation objectively and then do a little detective work.
Take special notice of your coworker, focusing on the indirect issues that could be affecting his or her work, instead of the work itself and start asking questions.  Is his or her workload heavier than normal? Has he been ill recently?  Has she been coping with a difficult situation at home?  Do we simply understand our assignments in different ways?  Once you develop an understanding of the outlying factors and think critically about the situation, you will not only take your own heightened emotions out of the mix, you can address the problem more empathetic way.

When you set aside a time to talk one-on-one with your coworker, remember that your conversation is meant to help, not hurt, and resist the urge to play the blame game or go into attack mode.  Instead, talk to your coworker in a positive way, reminding them first of their strengths before airing your concerns.  Keep your tone matter of fact and to-the-point and take the time to brainstorm on solutions you can work toward together. 

In the end, your coworker will appreciate that you came to them directly instead of letting word of your frustration make it back to them through the rumor mill and by collaborating on ways to make things better, you can become a stronger team and excel on future projects.  And even better, as Gallo explains, NICE has its rewards: “By being generous now, you are incurring the obligation of your colleague to help you in the future.  This reciprocity is often what strong professional relationships are built on.”
So, the next time your coworker messes up yet again, take a deep breath, look at it as an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive and then be nice!  You never know what great strides you two could make once you take those first few steps together.

Posted by Linda and Robin