Melissa Davies, an international expert in developing workplace environmments, outlines winning leadership and teambuilding skills that create business success.
Poor leadership skills cause discord in the workplace and can negatively impact a company’s bottomline and employee morale. Often we see other people as “the problem” when we should be looking at ourselves in the mirror. How Not to Act Like An Asshole at Work (Wise Ways Consulting/May 2016/$14.95 paperback) by international business consulting expert, Melissa Davies, delivers examples and lessons on how to create a business environment where team members are able to show up with their best selves and contribute to meeting the organizational mission.
“Empathy is something that is sadly lacking at the moment - on all fronts - business, politics, society. People don’t seem able, nor choose to be able, to put themselves into each other’s shoes,” Davies states. “They just sit firmly entrenched in their corners and then hurl comments and insults at each other. We would be far better off by showing some empathy and appreciation for other’s views and situations…then we might be able to work together.”
Unlike other leadership - and team-focused books, How not to Act like an Asshole at Work is written in story form allowing readers to escape into a fictional environment, but one that looks and feels familiar. The story follows a hyper-driven, task-focused manager who doesn’t understand that an organization’s best asset is its people. Through the candid help of her mentor, she learns how essential behavioral skills are in her role as manager and how much she has to learn if she wants to develop her team.
“People are better able to identify with a situation if you use a business parable instead of a self-help-type textbook,” Davies explains. “The story I wrote is one people can identify with, relate to, and understand. All the scenerios in the book come from real life business situations.”
In the story, Davies outlines the type of people we usually meet in our work life that can create tension and problems. Some can be identified as:
• The Can’t Trust ‘Em as Far as You Can Throw ‘Em type
• The It’s All About Me type
• The I’m Taking my Toys and Leaving type
• The My Way or the Highway type
• The World is out to Get Me type
• The That’s Not My Problem type
• The How Can You be Doing This to Me? type
Organizations are made up of many different personalities and characters. The story team in How not to Act like an Asshole at Work is no different. Representing the diversity within today’s workforce, they come from all walks of life. They bring competing priorities and personal agendas. They are of different faiths and ethnicities. Yet at their core, they all want to do well and feel like they are a part of something greater than themselves. Follow along with the fictional manager as she learns what it means to truly be an effective team leader.
Davies states that “it is no sin to need coaching and mentoring in the business world. When employees/team members feel empowered and supported, they will flourish, and as a result, the organization will be more successful.”
The book is available through bleepatwork.com in paperback or ebook.
