January 2007 ISSUE
PD SPOTLIGHT
Exposing Hidden Costs of Contempt and Conflicts
Do trust, appreciation and other uplifting personal concepts make you cringe? Anna Maravelas has a message for you, then: if you put aside the wince impulse and build a warmer, less angry workplace, you’ll probably improve your bottom line at the same time.
BY Nancy Toth, MA, CHRP
Manager, Professional Development & Human Resources
Anna Maravelas, a Minnesota consultant and the founder of TheraRising.com, demonstrates the link between profitability and eliminating mistrust, cynicism and conflict. She is a corporate peacemaker and professional speaker who quotes Albert Einstein: “Any intelligent fool can make things more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” Ms. Maravelas did, in fact, resolve actual workplace conflict for more than 20 years. Now she delivers presentations on her findings worldwide to governments and business leaders, including Fortune 500 companies. Her work has been featured on business radio and in more than 20 publications, among them Forbes.com and the New York Times. Many business people wince at words such as “trust” and “appreciation” as being too personal. Nonetheless, without positive energy, employees and leaders are left with two dismal choices — negative energy or lethargy. In studies, however, that span multiple continents, negative energy is on the rise. Ms. Maravelas states that 88 per cent of Americans cite hostility, desk-rage and workplace incivility as major concerns. She does not believe that simply removing negative emotions from the workplace solves the problem. Ms. Maravelas works with leaders to replace irritability, contempt, anger, resentment, tension and mistrust with responses that create positive emotions such as cooperation and collaboration. Her seminars teach the insights and skills that create cultures of appreciation characterized by respect, pride — and fiscal responsibility! In her seminars, Ms. Maravelas explores emotional idiocy, inflammatory thinking and the reasons why people engage in it. Her terminology is as original and provocative as her concepts are. She coined, for example, the term “The Stinky Twins: B.S. (Blaming Self) and B.O. (Blaming Others).”
Ms. Maravelas acknowledges that people use negative emotions as a source of energy. A common example is a group berating an absent person, behind the target’s back. This writer and speaker shows, however, how these behaviours are stunningly self-defeating. They drain effectiveness, accountability, health, morale and pride. She coaches people to buck the trend toward anger and develop deeper, more enduring energy based on shared focus and mission. Understanding that many workplaces are mired in conflict, blame and resentment, Ms. Maravelas guides people to “unplug” fraom negative emotions and replace them with positive, productive work relationships.
“Positive emotions impact clarity, health, productivity and resiliency. The only downside is forgoing occasion bouts of self-righteous indignation, blame and avoidance.” Want to learn more about this approach to improving your health, work and team? Attend the 2007 APEGGA Annual Conference and AGM Professional Development Days, April 26 and 27. Select the Anna Maravelas two-day stream, titled Self-Defeating Habits of Otherwise Brilliant People, and When Trust is Broken.