Ed’s Article on Soundview Magazine – “Your Workplace is Like A Poker Hand”

As I work to improve my skills as a coach, there is a suggested best practice that if a coach can relate an experience that a client finds stressful, to an experience that is typically less stressful, the client will understand their stressful situation more clearly. This is what I have found with my poker analogy. In poker, you will be dealt either a good hand or a bad hand. Regardless of the hand you are dealt, it is the hand you have to play. More of your energy should be spent figuring out how to play the hand. By comparing their workplace to a poker hand – my clients seem better able to understand their situations, and more importantly, think more clearly about what to do about them.

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Things That Might Be Jeopardizing Your Relationship with Your Boss

Are you worried that you may be jeopardizing your relationship with your boss? Here are some of the most common reasons why your relationship with your boss may not be as good as you’d like. Next week we’ll go over some tips for overcoming these barriers.

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Why You Must Have a Positive Relationship with Your Boss

When you have a positive relationship with your boss, many wonderful and career-enhancing things are possible. Opportunities, praise, promotions, pay increases are just a few. Your life as an employee is easier, you have more impact, and you’re in a stronger position to drive your career forward. When I think of the benefits of having a positive relationship with your boss, I come up with an acronym that spells the word “help.”

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Why Is Responsiveness Important?

You may feel that you should not respond to colleagues until you have the answer to their questions or requests. Or you might assume that others know you are working on their problem and you don’t feel a need to keep them updated. You may rationalize that you are too busy to get back to anyone except your boss. But here’s why responsiveness is important.

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A Warning on Being Accessible

Being Accessible does not mean you are available 24/7/52. We all have limits on the degree to which we can be reached by co-workers, and you should feel comfortable enforcing and expecting others to honor these limits.

Can you be too successful at modeling accessible behavior? Is this an example of “too much of a good thing”? We all know that sunlight is a good thing, yet too much can cause skin cancer. We know that the human body needs sugar to survive, and yet too much may cause diabetes. If you’re wildly successful at being accessible, you may find your calendar under attack.

Your goal is to make sure you are being accessible to serve the needs of others, not to become their servant.

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Being Welcoming to Your Colleagues

Visibility is also comprised of “reputation” which is the intangible ways that individuals connect with you. Are you being welcoming to your colleagues and creating an atmosphere that reflects your desire to be accessible? When your colleagues come to see you, is your behavior creating or hindering access? Here are some ways to create a welcoming atmosphere that inspires access:

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