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Week 1 - Discussion 2

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The Manager’s Role in Reducing Workplace Drama

Managers need to balance the need for business results with employee commitment and engagement. While responsible for ensuring their groups are productive, they must also create and maintain sustainable positive work cultures.

One of the greatest impediments to a positive work environment is what researcher Cy Wakeman terms “drama.” Wakeman defines workplace drama as anything that creates what she references as “emotional waste,” mentally wasteful thought processes or unproductive behaviors that keep managers and their teams from delivering the highest level of results. This “Drama” can include complaining, judging, creating stories, gossiping, blaming, jumping to conclusions, meddling in others’ business, withholding buy-in, and resisting change - to name a few.

This week’s Learning Resources further define the term as it applies to workplace behavior and provide a variety of tools and mechanisms for managers help reduce drama in the workplace.

For this shared practice, reflect on your experience with drama in the workplace, including where it came from, how it was handled, whether these approaches were effective, and what the impact was on you, your colleagues, and the overall work environment. Then use the strategies in this week’s Learning Resources to identify how you, as a manager, would handle a similar situation if it occurred in your area of responsibility.

By Day 5

Using the criteria outlined in this week’s resources on workplace drama, describe a specific instance of workplace drama you have experienced or observed in the past. Be sure to include:

. The source(s) of the drama from among those outlined in the week’s resources;

. The specific behaviors that occurred;

. The manager’s response and whether you believe this was effective or ineffective;

. The impact on employees and the workplace; and

. What you would do as a manager in a similar situation in the future to deal effectively with the situation, using at least two specific strategies from this week’s Learning Resources.

By Day 7

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to two or more colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

· Identify a specific prevention strategy the manager could have used in the situation described that might have helped prevent the drama from occurring;

· Suggest a strategy your colleague did not mention that you believe might be effective in handling similar situations in the future; and/or

· Discuss how a strategy your colleague mentioned might also be of benefit in the situation you described in your initial post.

Be sure to be specific and draw on the Learning Resources for ideas and recommendations.

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