Sugar-coating coworkers are people who are so concerned with having a positive relationship with the boss that they will say and do most anything to keep the boss happy – to the point of creating negative outcomes.
For an organization to be truly customer-focused, internal customers – those colleagues who depend on us to get their jobs done – need to be treated with the same care and respect with which we show external customers.
If you ever find yourself doubting that you can make a difference at work, I have three stories that illustrate how easy it really is.
Workplace saboteurs aren’t common, but they are a huge source of frustration when you encounter one. Christine, from Melbourne, Australia, described a classic example:
Most of us have ‘internal customers’ – people in our own company who rely on us to provide them with some level of service or support. Unfortunately, just as there are difficult external customers, there are also difficult internal customers.
60 Seconds That Make a Difference to Your Coworkers Want to make a difference
If you’re like most people, though, even though you know how important the skill of listening is, you’ve probably never taken the time to actively improve that skill.
It’s a beautiful day, you like your job, you’ve got a good boss, and the universe is unfolding as it should. The next thing you know, that negative coworker of yours walks in with that black cloud over their head, and sucks the life right out of you. They are the poster children for bad attitude.
Idea-trashing coworkers from Hell. They rarely have positive things to contribute, preferring instead to tell you why things are Bad Ideas or why they won’t work. They aren’t fun to work with.
Before you condemn a customer, colleague or boss for not explaining something well or of not paying close enough attention to your instructions, ask yourself these six things:
