Provided by Wise Ways Consulting
Melissa Davies, author of “How not to act like an asshole at work”
Fall starts a season of workplace multicultural miscommunications. It is a time for various holidays and observances from a vast array of religions and cultures. These celebrations then roll into the complications of Thanksgiving, and ultimately the office protocol jumble of Christmas and Hanukkah with its company parties, gift exchanges, and annual bonuses. It’s natural that employees and employers are often at a loss for words when they don’t understand that not everyone believes the same or wants to share in the celebrations.
In her new business communication book, HOW NOT TO ACT LIKE AN ASSHOLE AT WORK (Wise Ways Consulting/May 2016/$14.95 paperback) international business consulting expert Melissa Davies has created a fictional workplace where one manager fails to recognize how her insensitivity to her employees with differing beliefs is destroying her team and potentially her career. The book 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. “The holiday season is different for so many people. If we take the time to understand our employees and also our customers, we would all feel more comfortable working together. Where there is respect there is reward.”
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, when she denies the request of two employees to take time off for religious worship, she learns how essential behavioral skills and respect are in her role as manager. She has much 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.”
HOW NOT TO ACT LIKE AN ASSHOLE AT WORK is available through bleepatwork.com.
Melissa Davies is an internationally respected expert on developing workplace environments where people are able to show up better, with more of their whole selves. She works with clients across North America and spends much of her time working with military organizations. She runs Wise Ways Consulting, which specializes in executive coaching, group facilitation, and high-engagement training. Melissa works with multi-national corporations as well as numerous U.S. Government agenices. A native of British Columbia, she lives and works in Northern Virgina.
