Work it Out: Clues for Solving People Problems at Work [Paperback]

Sandra Krebs Hirsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 1996

Move beyond workplace conflicts. Getting the job done is one thing, getting it done together is another!

Editorial Reviews

Review

Authors offer a new perspective on how to solve the disruptive friction that arises between people in the workplace. -- HR Magazine, October 1996

Especially valuable to managers who are responsible for helping individuals and groups to work together. -- Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, Winte 1997-98

Most accessible and entertaining. -- Bulletin of Psychological Type, Summer 1997

Real gift is that you can gain more precious morsels of information about what makes you tick, deep-down. -- Apparel Industry Magazine, December 1996

Tackle frustrating meetings, deadbeat teams, and changing work demands with a title which covers common workplace conflicts and barriers to getting jobs done. Learn to work together by understanding complimentary personality traits and their powers of association, and by using this book to facilitate more effective work relationships within teams and between individuals. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Inside Flap

Working Together But It's Not Working?

* You sit in endless meetings without a chance to participate because your colleagues always seem to dominate the discussion. * Your team is supposed to be solving a problem, but your co-workers keep getting sidetracked onto irrelevant issues. * You are diligently working to meet next week's deadline, but your boss keeps generating new plans, changing the entire project once again.

While workplace conflicts such as these are common, there are better ways to get the job done. WORK IT OUT uncovers the mysteries of how best to work together. Using a mystery theme to uncover how different personalities operate, personality type experts Sandra Hirsh and Jane Kise demonstrate the effects of different personalities at work and how to use this understanding to facilitate more effective work relationships, whether with co-workers, the boss, your team, or subordinates. Especially valuable for any manager responsible for helping individuals and groups work together--and who must deal with the fallout when they don't--WORK IT OUT will help you identify the strengths of employees, recognize areas of potential conflict, and bridge the gap when personality differences arise.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Davies-Black Publishing; 1st edition (October 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089106088X
• ISBN-13: 978-0891060888
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Work it out: clues for solving people problems at work, February 3, 2000

By 

Quint Gage (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work it Out: Clues for Solving People Problems at Work (Paperback)

Work It Out, Clues for Solving People Problems at Work was written as a "how to" guide for working out personality conflicts in the workplace. Hirsh and Kise make use of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MTBI) and give practical advice to professionals who are interested in an effective, team oriented work environment. The book is written in a witty style that brings the text alive by use of narrative. Pragmatic uses of graphical images highlight the important points. A discussion of type preference is followed by an explanation of how different types fit together and are manifested in the workplace. The book concludes with an explanation of each of the 16 different combinations of personality types and how they can be better understood. Understanding type better emphasizes the strengths of team players, by understanding what they prefer, not dwelling on what they do not.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using Work It Out, May 10, 2002

By 

Richard Eastman (Newport Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Work it Out: Clues for Solving People Problems at Work (Paperback)

I employ 10 folks in a computer development "geek" shop. A long-time student and user of Temperament or Type -- I was pleased with this book in that it presents the premise of Type in an easy to read style that represents realistic work environments; situations that I believed my staff would understand. I bought a copy for each staff member -- and as a team, we are working our way through the book chapter-by-chapter; one chapter each week. 30 to 45 minutes of each Monday morning Staff meeting are devoted to discussion of the issues in the "current" chapter; what each person's "type" value is, and how those values contribute and frustrate the values of others. We are six weeks into this project. Conflicts issues between staff that used to cause friction and frustration are simply melting away as the chapters drop away. Staff openly discuss disagreements as conflicts in Type; and allow each other to have different views. Staff that would never read anything ... are reading this book in advance, usually over the weekend on their own time, to be prepared for Monday staff meetings. Team members that were often late to staff meetings in the past ... are "on-time". Whether the excitement will sustain itself after the book is completed is clearly a "management" issue -- but this book has captured the interest of a diverse group of computer "geeks", administrators, and managers. And while the company's profits are determined over sustained selling and development cycles ... the productivity output of the staff is up and we've not missed even an internal delivery commitment in the past three weeks; a virtual impossibility in years past. The book is proving to be a very powerful tool for my company.

\\ Richard Eastman
The Eastman Group, Inc.
www.eastmangroup.com

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding and appreciating differences in each other, June 18, 2001

By 

Sally Field (North Hudson, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work it Out: Clues for Solving People Problems at Work (Paperback)

For several years I facilitated workshops using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and found them very rewarding. When I picked up a copy of Work it Out, it greatly broadened my scope. This book gives wonderful, real-life examples of situations that we can all relate to and understand. Sandra discusses many different cases and scenarios in the text that will shed light for many of those who are stuck and wonder what is going on in a relationship with a fellow worker. There are valuable sections on team-building and coaching that have been especially useful to me and "type clues" throughout the book that are great "aha" moments for even a seasoned MBTI user. Wonderful text to understand and appreciate differences in anyone we work with! Should be on the shelf of every MBTI user.