THE DRAMA-FREE OFFICE

Tips on how to check your drama—and that of your colleagues—at the office door.

Is your office full of drama queens, and nothing seems to get accomplished? Father-daughter duo Warner (Facing Pain—Embracing Love: The Map to Authentic Living, 2009, etc.) and Klemp are here with solutions in this often-humorous guide to stamping out unnecessary and distracting office theatrics. The authors, who have worked with some 2,500 CEOs in their consulting business, define drama as “interactions that drain energy or deflect the team from the vibrant and shared pursuit of goals." They identify four primary actors in typical office dramas—the complainer, the cynic, the controller and the caretaker—and offer suggestions on how to turn bad behavior into productivity. First off, readers are instructed to control the dramatic flair they themselves exhibit: "You can choose to be 'right' or you can choose to be curious and take responsibility for whatever is happening in your life.” Moving forward, they provide strategies on how to rein in others, such as how to offer compliments when a complainer does well, how to be fair and accurate when dealing with a cynic and how to instill milestones on a project for a caretaker. Using these tools, the authors write, will foster behavior change and implement effective interoffice communication and productivity. Other highlights include ways to approach tough business meetings and how to handle visible emotions.

A quick-and-easy read that seeks to dampen office drama and ramp up efficiency.