In the Know |
Behaviour Modification
by Stephanie Sparks
Unprofessional behaviour is taking its toll on your workplace. Time and money are lost correcting uncivil attitudes, repairing broken relationships and pumping up morale from employees. Stop losing talent, business opportunities and dollars now.
BE AWARE
Everybody has bad days, even if you’ve managed to accumulate the happiest staff in business history, so anyone can benefit from a temperament tune-up. “What we do can really help anybody, but only if you want to be helped, only if you recognize there’s probably something you want to change or improve or build your foundation around,” says Ann Marsh, cofounder of Influence Ltd., a Calgary-based professionalism and etiquette training company. She explains that being aware of workplace behaviour doesn’t necessarily mean limiting the focus to individuals; the company may have outgrown a small-business management style or its workplace policies, and that awareness could prevent potential issues, like an unprofessional reputation.
NO EXCUSES
There’s always an excuse (no matter how weak) for arriving late, being unprepared or bringing a poor attitude to work. All of these can leave a bad impression with not just co-workers, but to prospective clients and partners. “These are very tough times and there’s always something, and if you think about it, it’s not an excuse to be disrespectful to a colleague or a client,” says Marsh. “If anything, this is more a time to be on your game.” Though you can’t redo that initial meeting, you can still turn a bad first impression into a second chance.
PREP WORK
Prepare for work instead of preparing an excuse. Marsh uses the example of two colleagues attending a networking event, where “you stick together like Velcro because you’re so scared to break apart, but the only problem is you never really accomplish anything…. The reason we’re not as successful at these events as we want to be is we don’t have any expectations in terms of what are we supposed to achieve when we’re there?” Advise staff on what you expect of them in terms of adding or receiving value from attending the event.
RESPECT YOURSELF
Have some self-respect – it’s contagious. If your employees see a change in you, it will be reflected in their behaviours. Don’t put on a sunny demeanor for clients and a scowl for staff. “Sometimes we think we have to act one way with this individual and another way with somebody else,” says Marsh. “Figure out who you are and then work towards establishing that level of consistency and professionalism.”
