My Crazy Office | K Squared Enterprises

My Crazy Office

My Crazy Office is a weekly workplace podcast dedicated to helping listeners navigate their careers. Executive coach Kathi Elster and career therapist Katherine Crowley combine their expertise to solve both serious and silly situations at work. Join Kathi and Katherine as they answer real workplace questions with solid advice and a side of humor. Do you have someone or something at work that’s driving your crazy? Send your questions to info@mycrazyoffice.co. (All submissions kept confidential.)

Low on HoHoHo

December 13, 2011

It’s that time of year again, and I’m in a frenzied, anxious state of mind. How are you? If you are able to weather this holiday season calmly, please tell me your secret. Tell me because, despite my best efforts, I find this time of year deplorable.

Don’t get me wrong — I love the lights, I like the fellowship, I like the idea of reconnecting with family and friends. But I hate the pressure and the barrage of advertisers insisting that I buy, buy, buy.

My hohoho usually comes from enjoying people, not things. At work, I am grateful for my clients, my business partner, our agent, our vendors, our service providers and everyone else who makes daily interactions and business exchanges pleasurable.

At home, I’m grateful for my loving husband, my stepchildren, my extended family and our overall health.

Okay, now I’m feeling a little bit better. But there’s still so much to do, right? I welcome your ideas on experiencing joy or peace or laughter or light during this time of year.

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Don’t avoid conflict

October 5, 2011

I have been told by close friends that I walk towards conflict. I don’t think that is accurate. What is accurate is that I have learned not to avoid conflict. In my experience every time I avoid conflict it seems to comes back and because I avoided it the first time, when it comes back it’s ugly.

So I like to say that I am willing to have conflict with another person. There are tricks to having a successful conflict, here are my rules.

– Listen to the other persons side, even question them to fully understand what they are thinking.
– Always thank them for explaining their point of view.
– Truly try to see where this person is coming from.
– When you finally get to say what you are thinking, make it about yourself, say things like.

“It might just be me” “I see what you are saying, but try to see what I see”

Then when the conflict is over, take a long hot shower it will wash away the stress.

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Milkgate

September 29, 2011

I love the story about Keith Zackheim, the head of a 60-person public relations firm, threatening to fire the next person who fails to replenish the office’s carton of milk.

His frustration at repeatedly finding empty milk cartons (with two drops of milk left in them) in the company fridge is something almost every one can relate to.

What is it about replacing shared supplies that is so difficult for so many of us? Why do we think it’s fine to leave crumbs in a former bag of cookies for the next person to find?

I honestly don’t know, but I like Keith’s fervor. Why not create a consequence for failing to replenish a supply that everyone relies on and you used up?

I doubt anyone will actually get fired at Zackheim’s firm for milk crimes, but I appreciate the zeal.

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How to ride a bad mood

September 9, 2011

This week has been interesting because I can safely say I’ve been in a bad mood for much of it. Perhaps it’s because I don’t want summer to end. Maybe it’s connected to the approach of 9/11. Or Maybe it’s just ‘cuz. While it’s tempting to wonder why, the bigger issue is how to ride it out.

When I’m in a bad mood, external experiences tend to match. So this week, I lost my purse on my commuter bus (then had it returned), our phones went out for two days, the rain created two water leaks in my office, and I discovered that our basement was infested with mold (which I aggressively vacuumed away).

It’s kind of cute how the universe picked up on my bad mood and magnified it.

The good news is that I’m old enough to know that this too shall pass. I can see my mood and the irritating events of this week as tiny blips on life’s screen.

And I know that it would serve me to slow down, catch my breath, and do one of the many things we often suggest: restore my energy with exercise, yoga or rest; repair my emotional state by meditating, and spending time with people I love.

How do you ride out your bad mood(s)? Maybe we can help each other out.

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I Hate Ebb and Flow

August 31, 2011

As the summer draws to a close, I have to admit that I really don’t like ebb and flow. I mean, flow I like. But ebb is much less appealing to me.

I liked it when the days got longer and the nights grew warmer. As the days grow shorter and the nights get cooler, I’m not so thrilled.

Nature is an important teacher. Clearly, the seasons don’t care what I think or how I feel about their ebb and flow. Their comings and goings illustrate the ebb and flow that is part of any cycle — including business.

I don’t like business ebb and flow either — but that, too, is a fact of life. So, I’m going to use this change of seasons to appreciate ebb (cooler nights, shorter days) for what it has to offer. Maybe shorter days provide more opportunities for indoor events and home dinners.

And maybe embracing this ebb can allow me to appreciate times of flow more fully.

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