Conflict: Not Necessarily a Bad Thing

I got yelled at tonight. Not the type of yelling that someone does when you've done something to tick someone off, but the kind of yelling that was a swift kick in the pants about something that I'm NOT doing.

I probably deserved it. I needed to hear it. But it made me edgy and I tried to make excuses.

Nope! That didn't work. I continued to get the lecture.

Now I know you are all dying to know what I did that wasn't exactly right. Mary? Got yelled at? How DARE they?

Here's what happened. Tonight my husband and I met out a friend from swimming and a woman I set him up with on a blind date. Lets call him Bill. If you read the entry that he dances to his own tune, then you've met Bill.

In my book, he's a consistent and dedicated swimmer. The lecture was about the fact that: I'M NOT.

I miss practice. I get there a tad late. And, I miss practice.

I told him I HAVE A LIFE. I have a child! I need my sleep!

He reminded me that I have a goal. I want to make nationals. I want to lower my time. I'm pretty close to doing it too.

So, here I am at 3 in the morning writing about the fact that I got yelled at. And I think it worked. I know he's right and I'm going to change my schedule around a bit so I can make the practices more often. I was going to about 3 a week instead of 4.

Earlier this week I dropped a note to friend who is an entrepreneur. He and his partner had a yelling match on the phone. I know them both well and they're both working hard at building their business. They had a disagreement and I tried to help smooth over the conflict.

I got this email from my friend that I liked:

Mary: Thank you for your insight?.Every tree that yields fruit must be shaken to get the best from the top.

So, I thought about it for a while and realized that the conflict did shake things up. It got them both out of their comfort zone. It made them think about what really was the answer to their problem. Because they didn't dance around the problem and play nice they were able to solve the issues more quickly.

I'm always the type that wants to avoid conflict. I think that a lot of people are like me. Its easier to talk things out than yell and get to the bottom line. But I see how that works.

Now I'm not proposing that anyone else should go out and confront anyone just to be able to yell at someone, but I do think that honest confronting can be exactly the thing to make someone step up to the plate, take ownership and pull their weight or change some sort of negative behavior. It's sometimes quicker than having discussion after discussion. It's certainly more memorable. And sometimes, it can get you up at 3 in the morning to blog about it!

But lets just SEE if it'll get me out of bed for 5:30am swim practice more times a week! I'm betting on YES.

Mary Gardner, The Charisma Coach! is an Executive Communications Consultant and Trainer. She works with, coaches and trains individuals, sales teams, executives, and celebrities. She owned and operated one of the first coaching institutions on the east coast, CCI, in NYC, Philly and NJ. Mary has appeared on ABC's 20/20 and has self published a book on public speaking. Mary is married to Sway and is mommy to Jeremy 5, and lives in Orlando, FL.

In The News:


Ethics inquiry puts heat on Palin aides
The Age, Australia - 7 hours ago
SENIOR aides will be forced to reveal the inner workings of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin's state office in an ethics inquiry that could be highly ...
Alaska trooper’s union files an ethics complaint against Palin Boston Herald
Ethics complaint filed against Palin KTUU
Alaska Lawmakers to Seek Subpoenas in Palin Inquiry New York Times
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Juneau Empire (subscription)all 1,633 news articles

ABC News

Ethics case tied to execution set for this week
Houston Chronicle, United States - 15 hours ago
AP A suburban Dallas prosecutor said Friday he will oppose attempts to review allegations of an unethical romantic relationship between a judge and a ...
Did a judge-prosecutor romance taint Texas murder trial? Christian Science Monitor
As Texas Execution Nears, Hearing Is Set on a Claim That Judge and ... New York Times
all 431 news articles

old-age ethics
Calgary Herald,  Canada - 12 hours ago
By Joan Barfoot (Knopf Canada, $32) Part of the delight of reading Joan Barfoot -- she was nominated for a Giller for her novel Luck and the Man Booker for ...

A question of ethics
guardian.co.uk, UK - Sep 6, 2008
Several codes of ethics are being trampled upon by the feet of UK healthcare professionals. The number of UK cases of measles, a potentially devastating ...

Are ethics reforms too hard for state lawmakers to follow?
Burlington Times News, NC - Sep 6, 2008
By Barry Smith / Times-News RALEIGH - The scandal which led to the imprisonment of former NC House Speaker Jim Black resulted in lawmakers adopting ethics, ...

Telegraph.co.uk

McCain supportes act like religious cultists but without the ethics
OpEdNews, PA - Sep 6, 2008
... she holds radical views (creationism in schools, global warming is a hoax, Alaskan independence, anti-choice), she is under an ethics investigation, ...
May the best man - or woman - win Central Florida Future
Two Very Different Tickets Two Very Different Visions & Two Very ... Canada Free Press
Behind The Ticket's Two Faces Bill Curry Hartford Courant
NewsMax.com - Times Onlineall 1,861 news articles

AFP

What Ethics? What Transparency?
Atlantic Online - Sep 5, 2008
America deserves the same openness and ethics from vice-presidential candidate Palin that she promised to Alaska voters in 2006. BOTTOM LINE: Gov. ...
Palin 'troopergate' probe out on Oct 10: Alaska govt AFP
all 33 news articles

Under a cloud: FBI probe an indication of ethics crisis
Houston Chronicle, United States - Sep 5, 2008
The series of ethics questions bedeviling Harris County elected officials, which began with the forced resignation of District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, ...

Seattle Times

Ethics Group Asks Justice Department and IRS to Investigate ...
MarketWatch - Sep 5, 2008
A full investigation of this matter is warranted." NLPC promotes ethics in public life and sponsors the Government Integrity Project.
Interest Was Waived for Rangel on Loan for Villa New York Times
Rangel Got Interest-Free Loan on Dominican Villa (Update2) Bloomberg
Rangel Says He Didn't Know of Loan Terms Washington Post
Gothamist - The Associated Pressall 271 news articles

ABC News

The primer on Sarah Palin
Detroit Free Press, United States - 14 hours ago
After winning the governor's office, she sold the state jet and takes credit for passing state ethics legislation and getting additional tax money from oil ...
Video: Palin's Speech Wows Hometown Crowd AssociatedPress
Palin: More and less than she seems The Associated Press
Private and Public Infidelities: The Vetting of Sarah Palin Black Star News
The Public Record - Detroit Free Pressall 1,012 news articles
ethics - Google News


Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

The Collapse of Enron: Managerial Aspects

Executive summaryIts revenues made up US $139($184) billion, assets equaled... Read More

The Need to Survive; A Death Knell For Organizations

Changing the driving force upon which business decisions are based... Read More

The Only Thing You Get for Free in Life is Hungry!

My grandfather was a very wise man. Simple but wise.... Read More

Dont Hate Them Because Theyre Beautiful

Tonight I'm going out with two extremely impressive ladies who... Read More

Do Organizations Serve Us Or Do We Serve Organizations

We have seen an erosion in the confidence that society... Read More

Top 10 Principles for Positive Business Ethics

This morning, I read about a company using on-line auctions... Read More

Business Ethics: Functional Choices

Years of experience have taught me there is no such... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Work Ethics and the Customer

This article relates to the Ethics in the Workplace competency,... Read More

How To Detect Liars In Your Business & Personal Life

We live in a world full of lies and deception.... Read More

The Three Schools of Business Ethics

G. Richard Shell, author of Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies... Read More

Selling Truth as a Differentiator

The last few years have been a period of heightened... Read More

What is a Ponzi Scheme?

This is for those who don't believe me when I... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Diversity And Success, In The Workplace

This article relates to the Diversity in the Workplace Competency,... Read More

Minding Your Global Manners

To say that today's business environment is becoming increasingly more... Read More

No Credit is Due: Bad Telemarketing

Just a few minutes ago I was debating what to... Read More

Financial Projections in Business Plans

One of the most difficult sections to write in a... Read More

Work Ethics ? A Paradigm Shift

Work ethics is a hot topic in today's business and... Read More

Diversity

I know that diversity has been a big topic of... Read More

Are You Selling Out Your Integrity?

Integrity in business is a quality that is highly under-rated... Read More

Is Your Management Style Lead By Intimidation?

So many women make the mistake of thinking that they... Read More

Vice of Buggery at FTC

At the Federal Trade Commission we have seen attorneys who... Read More

MacDonalidisation: Braverman, Taylor & Mayo

Background: George Ritzer defined McDonaldization as "...the process by which... Read More

Brain Development and Due Process

DUE PROCESSAfricans, especially Nigerians are stereotyped on the internet and... Read More

Conflict: Not Necessarily a Bad Thing

I got yelled at tonight. Not the type of yelling... Read More

Communicable Corporate Diseases Hurting Business Sexcess!

Enron Executive goes to prison for 10 years, Martha Stewart... Read More