Recently I have witnessed some very disturbing actions and reactions by so called professionalWAHMs. Because of this I felt it necessary to talk about it for a moment.
From time to time anger gets the best of us. When this happens we do not always act and react in the best of manners. We are only human. It happens. What we need to remember is people are always watching.
I witnessed this very thing in the past week. While I understand why the anger, I did not understand the unprofessional public reactions. No matter whether these actions are felt justified, they are never to be made public in such a manner. Furthermore they are never to be made in public to entice others into siding turning what could have been taken to the person or persons for further discussion on the matter. This only creates what I like to call the WAHM posse. You may feel you having those others on your side will win your case but you could actually be hurting them. Think about that.
The WAHM posse is what I affectionately call those who join and attack to protect another WAHM because that is the right thing to do. The other would do it for them so they must unite and fight is the attitude. This is why so many feel there are too many cliques in the WAHM world.
I bring this up as a business owner, a manager, and a representative. I have worn all hats so I see things from many different sides. Along with other business owners, managers, and representatives, we see these reactions. We take notice who they are and how they are handling a situation. We think about how poorly the situation is handled and think to ourselves - Do we really want this person with our company? If this person were to join our company would we consider their application to management? Is this the type of behavior we want to represent our company, co-consultants/co-affiliates, our management, our products and image? Do I want someone on my team that acts unprofessional? The answer to these are all no.
If you are caught up in a situation where you feel you have been wronged in some way, first calm down. Sometimes it is better said than done but it must happen. Before you react take a walk. Get a drink of water. Close your eyes and count to 50 in a quiet room. Dance around your house to a fun and energetic song. Whatever you need to do to enter than calm state. Only when you are calm will you be able to think and react in the most professional way. Next approach the person(s) who you feel have wronged you and explain your feelings and why you feel that way. Ask them for an explanation on why the situation has come to the point it has. This is not the time to attack and tell them they are wrong and they don't know what they are losing. That will only put others on the defense and the situation will never reach a resolve. If you feel there is no resolution, leave in a professional way.
Remember that saying - never burn your bridges?
You are not being judged based on the situation so don't get me wrong here. You are soley being judged on the actions and reactions. If you will do it to one, who says you won't do it to another if given the same anger level. Many say they will not judge you but in the end you are always being judged in business. Even potential customers are judging you even if they are a fellow consultant/affiliate in one company.
If you see another in distress, don't automatically jump to their aid. The biggest problem the WAHM world has is the cliques. Far too many. Many feel excluded even when in the same company. They see a linch mob formed over one persons word and they run from the posse. They did not sign up for drama and neither did you. Silly actions as this is mine and will never be yours just makes for a childish preception that nobody wants.
Always always remember no matter the situation you must conduct yourself in the most professional manner possible whether online or offline.
Don't kill your business over one heated situation. Retaliation is never the answer and never the reputation you want to be left with. If you must vent, do so with your friends. Just don't let the business world see it. You don't want your reputation ruined over one incident.
Olivia Vidal© Copyright 2008
http://sochicbagboutique.com/
