What to Do If You Pull Kellianne Conway Behind the Wheel and Hear Your Coworkers Chatting About Trash
So, last Thursday, presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway mocked her colleagues at Trump’s White House. “No leaks guys!” she said, imitating White House chief of staff Raines Priebus’ attempts (apparently completely unsuccessful) to stop the constant leak of information from members of this administration to the media. Her impersonations were overheard by another party-goer who posted the story on Twitter account @KellyanneLeaks .
Does she care? Probably no. Sean Spicer said she was actually making fun of the media and how completely wrong they were in saying that there is some kind of tension in the White House at all.
So there really isn’t much to do here because obviously it didn’t. But suppose you are a regular worker Joe, who might decide to blow off some steam by joking about how annoying Mary is from counts, and perhaps you even accompany your performance with, say, imitating Mary’s look, voice, dress. , whatever. And they are eavesdropping on you. Mary is furious and humiliated; you wish you had settled on two glasses or maybe someone shoved your head into your punch bowl before you raised your head to steam. What are you doing ?
There are some pretty clear first steps, and the first is the most important, according to Andrew Ricci, vice president of Levick , a Washington-based public relations and communications firm.
Take responsibility for the situation
“If you clear the air [with your colleague], it will get rid of the situation of extreme frivolity – a lot of tension,” says Ricci, “and will resolve it much faster. Maybe there was a disappointment. Solve this from the beginning. This leads to an increased culture of respect and collegiality and allows you to work better with someone in the long run. ”
Be patient
It takes years, even decades, to build a good reputation in the working world, and it can be destroyed with one silly comment about the hot microphone. “Understand that just because you behave well today, not everyone will like you tomorrow,” says Ricci. When I ask what a person can do to start a phase of forgiveness and move forward, such as when a celebrity facing a public relations nightmare makes a giant donation to an orphanage and the like, he replies, “External gestures of goodwill are nowhere to be found. fit. to hurt you, but it’s not stitches, it’s a plaster. They can start the healing process, but if your character is questioned, it will take a long time for a major rehab. ”
From now on, be a straight shooter
This is both for cynical reasons (you want to be considered a shooter) and for sincere reasons for personal improvement: you really want to be an accurate shooter. Good leaders, Ricci says, “create and maintain a shared understanding of mission,” and putting your colleagues in a position where you don’t trust can jeopardize that collegiality. If you followed the first step – “walked up to the person and told him that the comment was based on frustration or anger – this will set the stage for long-term rehabilitation. It takes courage, personal honesty and vulnerability. ”
A functional, mutually respectful work environment also requires strong leadership from the top that is respected by the rest of the team, and it’s possible that Kellianne Conway doesn’t like it in her office. “[The White House] is unlike any office I’ve ever been to … it looks like complete dysfunction, from senior staff to working all day.”
So how do you know when to quit? My personal barometer is when I can’t stop complaining about my colleagues. Ricci, who is more optimistic, says that he is generally able to overcome problems and solve them. “But if you think you have no chance of redemption (which is rooted in cynicism), then it’s probably time to move on. But you risk leaving your reputation in decline. “