嘉文博译-写作中心原创写作案例

Please give us an example of a difficult interaction you had with someone. Please describe the situation, what was difficult about it, and how you resolved it. (500 words)

I had a challenging interaction with one of my associates when my company was in the process of implementing a new system. I had been working hard to establish this new system, and I was standing over him enthusiastically pointing out all of the advantages of the new system over the old system. Suddenly, in a hesitant and acquiescent manner and without looking directly at me, my associate said: "Well, I guess if you folks really want to make these changes that much, okay, I go along." I immediately recognized that this was a classic "Give-in" defensive response, indicating that he did not really agree with these changes but felt compelled to go along anyway. I knew that further discussion would be necessary to convince him of the benefits of the new system.

I realized that like most people, he was resistant to change and possibly even felt that his job was threatened by the implementation of a new system. To defuse the situation, I told him that I knew that our old system had been developed to deal with some specific problems, so before moving ahead we should review those problems and make sure that we not only solved new problems but also made sure that old problems did not return. With his help, two weeks later we implemented my well-thought out plan.

The difficult part of this interaction was trying to deal with an associate in a defensive position. Direct confrontation with him would have been bad for the company. My strategy was to find out the reasons for his defensiveness and lead him to accepting the new system by feeling like he was a part of the change, rather than simply forcing the change upon him. I helped him to understand that these changes were necessary for the good of the business, and that he was a still a valuable team member to our company. Additionally, I made sure that he knew that the company still valued his past work on the old system. This strategy lessened the threat of change to my associate and made it easier for him to go along without feeling "run-over". Rather than telling him "You will do this", I managed by behavior, composed myself and modified my approach, therefore getting my associate to pay more attention to me and what I had to say. Instead of drastically cutting off our conversation and alienating my associate, we ended up with a new and better system and a productive working environment.

From this interaction, I learned that the more we can avoid threatening others, either purposely or inadvertently, the more cooperation we can expect from them. People are naturally resistant to change, and the more communication that we have, the easier it is to make changes, especially when someone feels that his or her job is being threatened. Defensive behavior probably cannot be eliminated but it certainly can be reduced through the use of a little strategy and some common sense.