Law Practice Management
Five Reasons Lawyers Get into Silly Fights at Work
Posted Apr 17, 2009, 08:23 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Emotions such as anger and traits such as ego make it easy for lawyers to get drawn into silly fights at work.
Lawyer and compliance consultant Erika Tyner Allen identifies five reasons lawyers get drawn into workplace disputes, and offers ways to avoid the next fight. Writing in the Complete Lawyer, she lists these reasons, along with coping strategies:
1) Anger. When you get an arrogant voice mail or a co-worker drops a bomb in a meeting, wait to respond. Anger lessens with time.
2) Lack of empathy. Consider why another person said something that made you angry.
3) A public challenge that spurs your ego to respond. “Just because you have an audience doesn’t mean that you should engage in a fight that otherwise doesn’t make sense,” Allen advises. The same principle applies when you get an antagonistic e-mail that’s been copied to others. Instead of writing a sassy response and hitting “reply all,” talk to the sender in private.
4) An urge to take the easy road. Sometimes it’s easier to respond to small dustups rather than vital issues.
5) The need to prove yourself. There’s no need to disagree just to prove that you are smart or correct.