On Respecting Differences of Opinion

Today's post continues the insights presented yesterday by anonymous as she discussed a personal characteristic that she views as a deficiency. Yesterday she discussed coping with change. Today she looks at another personal difficulty involving respecting differences of opinion. Here's her thoughts for today, reprinted with permission.

"I have a very hard time listening to other people’s opinions. If it is not one that closely matches my own I usually develop a low opinion of that person. These are usually not politically correct opinions that I believe people should not be voicing in the work place anyways. I NEVER ask a person what they believe if it is a touchy subject."

Her action steps to help overcome this deficiency were as follows: "I will try to just walk away when others are saying statements that I may not agree with. I will just let them have their opinion and I will have mine. However, in the future, if it is something I feel is not work appropriate I will say so and ask for the discussion to stop. There is no reason for anyone to feel uncomfortable in the workplace, including me."

I suggested to anonymous that she apply the military strategy of "choosing your battles wisely" in the above types of situations. Some things just aren't worth fighting about. Other things very much are. The wise supervisor learns how to make that distinction.

About me: Dan Pelley teaches communication skills as part of his "Leadership Skills" program, one of five programs leading to a Certificate in Supervisory Management. 139companies in Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Massachusetts (MA) and New York NY have one or more people who earned this certificate.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
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