How do you speak to people about inappropriate behavior? A leader with the American Cancer Society had to speak to someone he supervised about bad behavior. He had been a volunteer in India and told me that business women in India had taught him a nice way of doing it. Before they berate, they appreciate.
Still, he resisted doing it and postponed the confrontation, but eventually he knew something had to be said. He didn’t want to approach the volunteer with his own righteous indignation. He wanted to communicate the actual issues, not his own anger.
“Before the meeting,” he recalls, “I contemplated what I appreciated about this woman. I listed all her great qualities and remembered the times she had been a fabulous volunteer.”
“It worked,” he exclaims. “It turned out to be a very successful meeting. Both of our concerns were covered and we parted peacefully.”
This was one of 5 tips I learned from 5 nonprofits. The other nonprofits are: Wellesley College, American Red Cross, Punahou School in Honolulu, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. If you want to read the other 4 tips, they are posted on the Huffington Post.
Thanks, Shar McBee, author of “To Lead is to Serve”
A woman sent me an email saying: “FYI I went to Punahou for 13 years K – 12 and received an absolutely fantastic education both academically and socially.”
i wrote her back that I gave one of my first seminars at Punahou.
Shar,
The five points made on the Huffington Post site are wonderful! Practical, common sense strategies that I know can make a positive impact on any organization. Thank you!
Wonderful and practical. Love it!!! Thank you, Teresa.