The more you know about your workplace environment, the better you can prepare yourself to deal with its demands. Which of the four workplace environments do you inhabit? Don't Run Naked Through The Office offers an inventive and useful way of viewing the workplace as four different work environments. It explains the factors that influence these environments, teaches you how to respond effectively to a manipulative boss, and shows you how to leverage more control. It will help you preserve your job, your productivity, and your sanity!
The more supportive the environment, the more responsibility you can safely assume; the less supportive the environment, the less responsibility you should assume. Do you know when to accept responsibility for an outcome and when to reflect it back to your boss?
Assumption of responsibility is a double-edged sword that can give you greater power to accelerate your career or it can be used by an unscrupulous boss to cut you off at the knees. If you do not deliver the goods, you may be history or right in sync with the culture of the organization. But how do you determine which path is in your best interest?
Regardless of the outcome, assuming responsibility means assuming risk and you need to be cautious, especially in a non-supportive environment.
Do you know when you are assuming reaponsibility for a particular outcome? It may be as uneventful as saying "OK" to a comment from your boss as you pass in the hallway. Most people are not even aware of what they have done or the potential implications!
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: The more supportive the environment, the more responsibility you can safely assume; the less supportive the environment, the less responsibility you should assume.
The less supportive the environment, the more you need to document; the more supportive the environment, the less you need to document. Do you know what to document, when, and how to use it to your benefit?
Properly prepared documentation is essential to your survival in the workplace. Companies use documentation to their advantage. You need to use it to your advantage, too!
The intent of documentation is to provide an accurate record of what you did, when you did it, and why. It is useful to have in a Supportive Environment and genuinely essential in light of accusations, innuendos, and rumors that frequently occur in a non-supportive environment.
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: The less supportive the environment, the more I need to document; the more supportive the environment, the less I need to document.
The stronger your foundation, the more resourceful and productive you can be and the more able you are to perform in any environment. What elements of your foundation need upgrading?
You bring much more to the job than what can be documented on your resume. You bring the entire collective works of your time on earth. This includes the totality of your life experiences.
Your foundation is comprised of what you know, what you can do, who you know, your ability to solve problems, and how well you adapt to changing conditions. These are the key elements that support your on-the-job performance. But, ultimately, all performance is situational.
Do you know how situational performance applies to your productivity in non-supportive environments? Most people don't know what situational performance means, let alone understand how it impacts them in the workplace!
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: The stronger my foundation, the more resourceful and productive I can be and the more able I am to perform in any environment.
All of your decisions and activities should be consistent with what you would expect of your employees if your were a manager in a Supportive Environment. How much control do you exert over your professional image?
The more you know about how you are perceived by your co-workers, the better prepared you are to make decisions and act in a manner that helps you shape a positive image.
There are some elements of your behavior which may increase your vulnerability in a non-supportive environment. Taking control over those areas of your professional life can produce results your co-workers will notice, can help you reduce your vulnerability, and can help you to better establish yourself in a more defensible posture.
Do your co-workers view you as a professional who can get things done or do they see you as a slacker? How certain are you?
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: All of my decisions and activities should be consistent with what I would expect of my employees if I were a manager in a Supportive Environment.
Does it seem too good to be true? Will it delay what really needs to happen? Does it require you to take the first step? These are only a few of the questions that will help keep you from falling into a trap set for you by a misguided boss. Do you know the others?
Your survival in the workplace may very well hinge upon your ability to recognize the signs that danger is at hand. Bosses in Antagonistic and Contentious Environments often employ techniques to trip you up.
Many traps have a recognizable sequence intended to ensnare you much like the sweet fragrance of sap lures insects to their death in the clutches of the carnivorous Dionaea Muscipula, commonly known as the Venus Flytrap.
Do you know when you are being set up for failure by a misguided boss?
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: The less supportive the environment, the more cautious and prepared I need to be to deal with a full range of traps and control techniques.
The Workplace Survival Plan takes everything we teach you in the book and brings it all together. This checklist guides you every step of the way in developing your own personal Workplace Survival Plan. The full checklist with an explanation of each step is contained in our book Don't Run Naked Through The Office. Successful people often say that you plan to succeed by having a plan or you plan to fail by not having a plan. If you are frustrated with your job and near the breaking point then you definitely need a Workplace Survival Plan. Even if you are satisfied with your job but simply want a way to improve your chances of success then a Workplace Survival Plan will definitely benefit you.
Your Workplace Survival Plan is about surviving in non-supportive workplace environments. But, in a supportive environment, your Workplace Survival Plan helps you get ahead and stay there!
Our Workplace Survival Plan Checklist guides you through every step of the process of building your Workplace Survival Plan.
Don't Run Naked Through The Office provides a Workplace Survival Plan Checklist and offers a step-by-step explanation of how to develop your Workplace Survival Plan plus four sample plans to provide you an idea of how to address the challenges of the environments you might be encountering in your workplace.
The Performance Chart provides useful information about how to deal with problematic situations at work in each of the four different types of workplace environments. It also brings together the guiding principles presented and explained in the book. It is included with your copy of Don't Run Naked Through The Office. This two-page chart, contained in Don't Run Naked Through The Office, gives a quick summary of what you learn in the book about recognizing the four workplace environments and how to operate effectively in each without losing your sanity!
Included on the chart are the guiding principles for each of the areas presented in the book where actions can be taken to leverage more control in the workplace. Theses principles prove very useful when faced with making a quick decision given the circumstances and the type of environment in which you work.
The Quick Reference Performance Chart serves as a wonderful resource to share with friends and colleagues when discussing the benefits you have experienced from incorporating the guidance provided in Don't Run Naked Through The Office into your everyday work processes.
Contact us to learn more about scheduling our A+ Game Changing Experience seminar for your organization. It provides guidance in how to leverage more control in the workplace and reduce frustation.
Learn how to:
- Recognize the 4 types of workplace environments and successfully navigate the challenges of each.
- Identify where you are at risk and minimize your vulnerabilities.
- Reduce stress and frustration while leveraging more control in the workplace.
- Deal successfully with both good and bad bosses.
- Improve your professional foundation and image.
- Become self-managed.
- Create a simple but effective Workplace Survival Plan!
This event can be tailored to your organization and can truly change your workplace culture for the better!
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