Sue Thompson

Antioch University Los Angeles

M.A.

Clinical Psychology

1996

Building Your Professional Presence

Int'l Facility Mgmt Association 2012 Facility Fusion  Chicago, IL

2012-04-11

The Self We Want Others to See: Understanding Client Personalities

Assoc of Image Consultants Int'l Southern California Chapter  Los Angeles

2012-03-31

Conduct Unbecoming

In organizations that deal regularly with clients, customers, or investors, no leader would tolerate rudeness, obscenity, or disrespect directed at the people who are the reason for their existence. Bad behavior toward customers ends up in phone calls or letters to management. In this day and age, it can be broadcast to vast numbers of people through a blog posting or a Tweet. Some issues even end up on the evening news and, as we know, can be picked up by national news outlets, damaging brands and destroying the reputation of particular locations. Offenders and their managers can lose their jobs.

So why is incivility *within* the company tolerated? Incivility at work is a productivity destroyer, costing companies insane amounts of money. When the workplace is a source of disrespect, backbiting, sabotage, and subterfuge, that organization might as well throw buckets of $100 bills out the window, because that's the effect of such an environment. Discover how incivility is like a parastic infection on the bottom line and what can be done about it.

Personalities in Perspective

Have you noticed yet that you work with people who are different than you? Do you sometimes struggle to understand what makes them so challenging? The employee who likes to talk and looks for ways to have fun has a different internal structure than the methodical plodder. The team player on the go is fired by something the slow and easy coworker doesn’t understand. What’s the most effective way to communicate with and relate to those who don’t see things as we do?

Learn a simple way of identifying personalities and gain a view of how to communicate so they can hear you! This is not a complex system that requires an understanding of psychology, but a tool that is easy, fun, and practical, because you already possess the necessary equipment: your eyes! You will leave seeing yourself and others in a whole new light! You'll have new strategies to implement immediately in creating strong teams, being a more effective manager, and "speed-reading" clients for great relationship-building.

The Awkward Conversation: Counseling Employees about Hygiene, Appearance, and Behavior

So you've got an employee who doesn't bathe, or who routinely clips his nails at his desk, or who eats nauseatingly pungent foods at her desk. People are complaining about the clothing the receptionist wears (or isn't wearing) or the bizarre habits of a coworker. You have to talk to the person--but what do you say?

It's the talk no manager wants to have. Because it's so sensitive, many managers attempt to drop hints to the person. Notes are written and left on desk chairs. Friends are asked to talk to the employee. Ultimately, most supervisors avoid the topic altogether, and this is a shame, because the inability to deal with this indicates a breakdown in good management. Find out *what* you can say and *how* to say it. Get some backbone on the matter, and then just do it. The truth is that 99% of employees respond well, so your fears are most likely groundless!