Remember Aesop’s Fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf? The story goes like this. A shepherd boy (self-styled hero) who was responsible for a flock of sheep had a habit of bringing out the villagers by screaming, Wolf! Wolf! When the villagers (fools according to the shepherd boy) came to help him, he would laugh at them and display a just-kidding attitude. The boy repeated his prank three or four times.

Unfortunately, one day the wolf (the villain) came and when the shepherd boy screamed in his usual melodramatic fashion that the wolf was killing the sheep, none of the villagers paid any attention to his cries. As a result the entire flock was destroyed.

One of the things that make Aesop’s Fables so unique is that there is always a moral to the story. The moral here is that exaggeration (a form of melodrama) leads to lying, and if one exaggerates or lies too much, no one will believe it even when the person speaks the truth.

Workplace Melodrama

In the workplace, melodrama happens when a minor concern or conflict is embroidered and overstated in such a way that it becomes larger-than-life and blown way out of proportion to the original issue.

Many people often complain about the level of melodrama in their offices. They describe it as follows:

• Incessant whining about things outside the average worker’s ability to influence or change.
• Larger-than-life scenes complete with tears, outbursts and whatever else that will draw attention to the person who is acting-out the part of the hero.
• The depiction of a person or group (usually management) as the villain or fool.
• Making everything a big deal (hyperventilation) to the point of exhaustion. Everything is elevated to crisis proportions.
• The emergence of a drama king or queen who collects followers with similar proclivities and initially holds court to entertain, but ends in aggravating or alienating the very people he or she needs to impress.
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Are you a homeowner or a business owner? If so, there is a good chance that you spend a good portion of your time cleaning up your home or your office. When doing so, do you wish that you could be doing something else; something other than cleaning? If so, you are definitely not alone; however, there is good news. That good news is that you can hire a professional to do your cleaning for you. If you live in or around the Dallas area, these professionals are often referred to as Dallas cleaning service
oes like this. A shepherd boy (self-styled hero) who was responsible for a flock of sheep had a habit of bringing out the villagers by screaming, Wolf! Wolf! When the villagers (fools according to the shepherd boy) came to help him, he would laugh at them and display a just-kidding attitude. The boy repeated his prank three or four times.

Unfortunately, one day the wolf (the villain) came and when the shepherd boy screamed in his usual melodramatic fashion that the wolf was killing the sheep, none of the villagers paid any attention to his cries. As a result the entire flock was destroyed.

One of the things that make Aesop’s Fables so unique is that there is always a moral to the story. The moral here is that exaggeration (a form of melodrama) leads to lying, and if one exaggerates or lies too much, no one will believe it even when the person speaks the truth.

Workplace Melodrama

In the workplace, melodrama happens when a minor concern or conflict is embroidered and overstated in such a way that it becomes larger-than-life and blown way out of proportion to the original issue.

Many people often complain about the level of melodrama in their offices. They describe it as follows:

• Incessant whining about things outside the average worker’s ability to influence or change.
• Larger-than-life scenes complete with tears, outbursts and whatever else that will draw attention to the person who is acting-out the part of the hero.
• The depiction of a person or group (usually management) as the villain or fool.
• Making everything a big deal (hyperventilation) to the point of exhaustion. Everything is elevated to crisis proportions.
• The emergence of a drama king or queen who collects followers with similar proclivities and initially holds court to entertain, but ends in aggravating or alienating the very people he or she needs to impress.
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Are you working at a job where the boss has no interpersonal skills; micro-manages you and treats you like a child?Do you work for a fault finding boss who yells, screams and talks to you in an arrogant and demeaning manner, even in the presence of your co-workers?Are you are tired of walking on eggshells at work because any small thing you do could set off an “explosion”?Is your boss hostile?If you work for a hostile boss and nothing has been done to resolve the situation, you
killing the sheep, none of the villagers paid any attention to his cries. As a result the entire flock was destroyed.

One of the things that make Aesop’s Fables so unique is that there is always a moral to the story. The moral here is that exaggeration (a form of melodrama) leads to lying, and if one exaggerates or lies too much, no one will believe it even when the person speaks the truth.

Workplace Melodrama

In the workplace, melodrama happens when a minor concern or conflict is embroidered and overstated in such a way that it becomes larger-than-life and blown way out of proportion to the original issue.

Many people often complain about the level of melodrama in their offices. They describe it as follows:

• Incessant whining about things outside the average worker’s ability to influence or change.
• Larger-than-life scenes complete with tears, outbursts and whatever else that will draw attention to the person who is acting-out the part of the hero.
• The depiction of a person or group (usually management) as the villain or fool.
• Making everything a big deal (hyperventilation) to the point of exhaustion. Everything is elevated to crisis proportions.
• The emergence of a drama king or queen who collects followers with similar proclivities and initially holds court to entertain, but ends in aggravating or alienating the very people he or she needs to impress.
Fake Plants Look So Real
I had a lunch meeting in an office building with a large open atrium the other day. It was a very nice spring day and the atrium was filled with sunlight. On the edges of the space were large trees and full green plants. These plants closely surrounded tables and chairs.We had our meeting in the atrium because it felt like being outside without the chill of a typical Midwest spring day. After the meeting, as I was getting ready to go I noticed that the plants were fake and I thought they were real
r concern or conflict is embroidered and overstated in such a way that it becomes larger-than-life and blown way out of proportion to the original issue.

Many people often complain about the level of melodrama in their offices. They describe it as follows:

• Incessant whining about things outside the average worker’s ability to influence or change.
• Larger-than-life scenes complete with tears, outbursts and whatever else that will draw attention to the person who is acting-out the part of the hero.
• The depiction of a person or group (usually management) as the villain or fool.
• Making everything a big deal (hyperventilation) to the point of exhaustion. Everything is elevated to crisis proportions.
• The emergence of a drama king or queen who collects followers with similar proclivities and initially holds court to entertain, but ends in aggravating or alienating the very people he or she needs to impress.
Interviewing Principles and Practices
Interviewing principles and practices do not vary often. First off, the term principle means a basic truth or belief. Therefore, an interviewing principle is a system of how interviews are normally conducted. As far as a practice is concerned, an interviewing practice is the usual, customary way it is performed. It also means an action done many times over to acquire skill. Therefore, interviewing principles and practices are the customary ways an interviewer asks the same set of questions that pertain to
o is acting-out the part of the hero.
• The depiction of a person or group (usually management) as the villain or fool.
• Making everything a big deal (hyperventilation) to the point of exhaustion. Everything is elevated to crisis proportions.
• The emergence of a drama king or queen who collects followers with similar proclivities and initially holds court to entertain, but ends in aggravating or alienating the very people he or she needs to impress.

Handling Office Melodrama – The M.O.D.E.L. Method

1. Model. When faced with conflict, disagreements or challenges, model the desired non-melodramatic behavior by balancing your reactions and emotions instead of behaving, speaking or acting in a way that is more dramatic, shocking, or highly emotional than the situation demands (mirroring).
2. Object to melodramatic activity that slanders or is hurtful to another co-worker. Refrain from participating in gossip and rumor-mongering.
3. Decide against becoming a drama king or queen yourself or a member of the royal court! There are always two sides to every story. Wisdom would suggest that you not pre-judge or second-guess; instead, try giving the benefit-of-the-doubt.
4. Engage. Be sensitive to ways you may be able to help the drama king or queen put a filter on his or her emotions and reduce the impact on other co-workers.
5. Calmly Listen to and watch the dramatic tale unfold instead of feeding the fire by overreacting. Remind yourself to take it all with a grain of salt, since drama kings and queens like to play to an audience.

Having a flair for the dramatic is not always a bad thing. Sharing funny stories or entertaining co-workers with the antics of children or pets can relieve stress and promote stronger interpersonal relationships; but, it is best to steer clear of office melodrama and workplace drama kings and queens who like to cry wolf!