How to Disagree with Your Boss

         Every workplace has a variety of personalities, work styles and cultures, so disagreements are inevitable. Disagreeing with your boss might not happen often, but when you feel the need to voice your opinion about an issue, it's always wise to do it respectfully (Mayhew, Media, N.D). In his article, Grenny (2014) provide a real life example happened in Dubai with Harsha and his boss Najib and after that they studied and analyzed the tactics of this interesting example and came up with some ways to disagree effectively.

           Here are four of the things these people do well according to Grenny (2014). First,

Contract for candor upfront which mean effective communicators do not wait for the need to disagree. They hold a separate conversation when the stakes are low and emotions are calm to agree with the boss about how to manage those moments when they disagree. Second, discuss intent before content. Some bosses gets defensive because they believes your dissent is a threat to their goals. So, you can be far more candid about your view if you frame it in the context of a mutual purpose that the boss already cares about. Third, respect before dissent which mean you must find a way to assure your boss that you respect his\her position. When that sense of respect is secure, you can venture into expressing your views openly and honestly. Finally, ask for - and earn- permission to disagree. Asking for permission is a powerful way of honoring the position of the boss and avoiding unnecessary provocation. However, there are some tips on how to disagree with your boss you have to be aware it as Daley (2004).

         These tips are maintain appropriate eye contact, listen without interrupting, be aware of your body language and tone of voice, leave out emotions and personal biases, be aware of the boss's goals and needs, choose the right time and place, use terms such as "suggest", offer a solution and present your opinions in the following manner: clear/concise, open/positive and profession (Daley, 2004).

References

 Boudreau, J (2015). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from

 https://hbr.org/2014/08/its-time-to-retool-hr-not-split-it/

Daley, K. (2004). How to disagree with your boss. American Society of Training and Development, 58(4), 82-84.

Mayhew, R. Media, D (N.D). How to Respectfully Disagree With Your Boss. Retrieved from

http://work.chron.com/respectfully-disagree-boss-9066.html

Good Leaders Aren’t Afraid to Be Nice

          There are many factors that determine leadership effectiveness which are personality traits, behaviors, and situational. So, in the world filled with agencies, the ultimate difference between success and failure leaders is whether people want to work with your teams or not (Panepinto, 2015). One of the most traits that attract people to be part of your team is being nice leaders. According to Panepinto (2015) everyone from Richard Branson to Barrie Bergman has claimed that being nice is in no way incompatible with being successful in business. Basically, leaders who display integrity, compassion, the ability to forgive and forget, and accountability are those who are what most of us would consider nice. However, in his article, Barron (2014) argued that success depend on being nice and he identified four specific problems that tend to appear when leaders place a higher value on being nice.

          The first problem according to Barron (2014) is failure to deal with problem employees. Leaders who want to be seen as nice tend to ignore employee problems. So, they will lose their employees’ respect. The second issue is failure to set and maintain high standards of performance which mean these leaders lower their standards when employees complain about their high expectations. The third problem is failure to act quickly. Many times nice managers prefer to wait because they hope the situation will improve. The last problem that identified by Barron (2014) is that equal distribution of rewards which make employees feel the reward system is not fair and they attend to lower their performance. So, to avoid that Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2011) went on to describe the five factor model of personality and in which average the effective leaders should have these traits.    

         The five personality dimensions are agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, neuroticism and extroversion. The effective leaders according to Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2011) should score higher in openness to experience conscientiousness and extroversion. On the other hand the good leaders should be in average in agreeableness and neuroticism.

References

Barron, P. (2014). Why Nice Leaders Fail: Peter Barron Stark. Retrieved from

http://www.peterstark.com/nice-leaders-fail/

Hughes, R. Ginnett, R. Curphy, G. (2011). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of                  

Experience: Leadership attributes (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Panepinto, J. (2015). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/2015/04/good-leaders-arent-afraid-to-be-nice

How to improve your business writing

          Business writing is a type of written communication, usually with standard structure and style between at least two people in workplace through proposals, memos or emails (Gale, 2014). So, knowing how to make the sentence fashion and making effective business writing will promote good relations, help create markets, resolve problems, and contribute positively to transactions (Thomson, 1988). However, according to O'Hara, (2014) some managers with overload work think that improving their writing is a tedious or even frivolous exercise. But, in her article, O'Hara (2014) argued this idea and she demonstrates what the experts say about business writing. “As Marvin Swift memorably said, clear writing means clear thinking,” said Kara Blackburn, “You can have all the great ideas in the world and if you can’t communicate, nobody will hear them”. Therefore, there are some processes that will enable you to be professional in business writing and helps you to write effectively, simply, clearly, and precisely.         

          The first process to improve your writing is planning. This process taking a third of the total time because you have to analyze your audience, analyze your purpose, generate ideas, research additional information, organize  and outline your document. The second way is drafting by using templates and choosing the style. The third process is revising by studying the draft and seeking help from other. The forth step to make your writing efficiently is editing by checking the draft to improve its grammar, punctuation, style and usage. The last process is proofreading which mean checking to make sure you typed what you meant to type (Markel, 2012,). In addition, O'Hara (2014) provides some principle to remember if you want to improve your business writing.

          There are some principles you have to do in business writing which are make your writing more direct and effective, Use a short sentences, avoid jargon, use words sparingly and Strive for clarity instead. On the other hand, don't Argue that you simply can’t write, don’t' Pretend that your first draft is perfect and don’t bury your argument (O'Hara, 2014).

References

Gale, P. (2015). Effective Business Writing: Top Principles and Techniques, Retrieved from

http://www.englishgrammar.org/effective-business-writing/

Markel, M.  (2012). Technical communication: writing technical documents (10th ed.). Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's.

O'Hara, C. (2014). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-improve-your-business-writing

Thomson, A. R. (1988). Writing effective business letters. International Trade Forum, 24(4), 22.