How to deal with someone who talks behind your back … and more!
October 31, 2010 by Marsha Petrie Sue
Filed under Business to Business: TIPS for WOMA members!
I have had many requests for the following list of answers from The Reactor Factor: How to handle difficult work situations without going nuclear. Perhaps our current lagging economy and skyrocketing unemployment are driving these requests. Or maybe it is dysfunctional work teams, poor leadership or just plain toxic people.
Do you have additional approaches that work for you? Please share! I’m thinking my next book will be entitled SOS: Stamp Out Stupidity. Your story may land in that new resource!
I can no longer deal with a fellow colleague who talks behind my back.
You first have to approach this person who you believe is talking behind your back by saying something like, “I understand that someone has been saying <insert the issues here> behind my back. It is not true, and I want to make sure this stops. Do you know anything about it? Can you help me end this gossip?” The behavior must be called to the person’s face. If this does not work, go to your superiors and tell them what your approach has been and ask for their assistance in ending these untruths.
I don’t get along with my manager.
This is your issue not theirs. Take time to learn about and understand the manager’s mode of communication and behavioral style. Then train yourself to flex to that style. (You may need to reread Chapter 4, “What Leaders Want” in The Reactor Factor.) You must learn to accept the manager’s “quirks” because this person is your superior. If it is unbearable, repackage yourself and find another job.
My manager doesn’t like me.
This is your perception. Determine the work outcomes your manager expects of you by. If the manager doesn’t tell you, start the conversation. Ask about the rewards of doing the job, and the consequences of not doing the job. The relationship with your boss does not have to be a love fest.
My work environment has turned hostile, and I have to tell someone what is going on.
If you feel physically threatened, you first need to notify your leader, and if no action is taken, consult with your human resources department. If you don’t have one, you can notify the EEOC at www.eeoc.gov. Before you take this step, do everything you can to resolve the conflict and hostility yourself. These are soft skills, and your company expects you to have and use them. Do not go running to someone else, like the EEOC, until you have exhausted every other option.
Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA, CSP
Photographer, Angler, Outdoorswoman and Wife to “The Boy Named Sue”
Also a professional speaker and author of a bunch of books and other stuff
Connect with Marsha: TWITTER @mpsue; LINKEDIN; PLAXO; FACEBOOK
WEBSITE: MarshaPetrieSue.com
Gretchen Steele – Member of The Women’s Outdoor Media Association
October 29, 2010 by The WOMA
Filed under Featured Members
Gretchen Steele of Coulterville, Ill., owns and operates Steele Photo Services. Gretchen is a Southern Illinois native and has been traversing the wild spaces of that state since her childhood. She retired as public health nurse in 2003 to pursue her passion of outdoor and wildlife photography full time. Her award winning work has been featured in many outdoor media outlets, and has been exhibited in various venues across the nation. A lifetime of wild crafting and wild foraging has made Gretchen a well-respected authority on Illinois edible and medicinal wild plants and fungi. Read more
Throw this dog a bone!
October 27, 2010 by Kathleen Miller
Filed under On the Road
“Look what I bought Abby!” my daughter Katharine exuded enthusiasm while on Skype with me last Saturday. She had just come home from her errands, one of which was Bonnie’s Bakery, an intimate Scottsdale, Ariz., bon-bon boutique — for dogs.
I am not a stranger to such news. As she held up the elegantly decorated confection that resembled a gourmet cupcake, I averred that I’d seen such Bowser bites in my favorite pet store here in Missoula, Mont., Go Fetch! “They always look so good!” I announced, “and they smell so good when I walk in and they are freshly baked.” We chuckled over the trend, and then Katharine told me the woman who owns the shop she frequents likes to nibble on them herself for a mid-morning healthy snack. Go figure.
“Read me the ingredients,” I ordered, after pointing out that the ones for sale in establishments I’ve seen advertise only the purest peanut butter, sweet potato and icings made with organic non-fat yogurt. What about that is not to be consumed by humans? “Gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, flax seed, and whole grain wheat are the only things in this one.” She lifted to the camera a lovely square petit four my mother would have purchased at Jurgensen’s Bakery and served at the Pasadena Junior League Luncheon. The other selection Katharine had made was a small sack of Savory Sweet Potato and Chicken Biscuits. Fit for a king — Shepherd, that is.
Dog food has made the leap from nasty to natural; I feed my boys natural and organic Canidae, and even reward good behavior with natural treats as opposed to the “junk food” for which they might more readily do back flips and fetch me a beer from the refrigerator — probably even pop the top. But dessert? Is that really deserved and more importantly, can I leave it to them and resist such temptation?
“So she really eats it?” I wanted to get back to the woman in the Arizona shop who nabs a nibble now and then from the gingerbread. “I wonder if it tastes like spice cake? With ingredients like that, how could it be bad? Remember when your brother double dared you to eat a Dog Bone dog biscuit?” We eyed each other on camera, mischief in our musing. “Do you dare me?” Katharine taunted. And with my nod, came her tentative nibble. “Yummmmm!” She turned to face Abby, there in the background, tail wagging in anticipation, and took another, larger bite. “Want a bite, Abby, before Mommy eats it all?” Then she turned again to me to note that, “This would be healthier than the power bars I eat for a snack before working out!”
These days it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish man’s health care from that of man’s best friend — and not just when it comes to medical care. At most pet stores they’ve covered the preventative disease bases: There are dog memory puzzles, brain games, and even pet medication websites that compete in the same pricing war and advertising that human prescriptions do. Who will outlive whom? When I was informed that medical requirements for one of my dogs would involve a lifetime of treatments, three times a day, entailing eye flush, eye ointments and eye drops, and the vet said, “for the rest of his life,” I couldn’t help but add, “or mine — whichever ends first.” Still, I perform the daily ritual as I toss Glucosamine/Chondroitin Sulfate and Flax Oil capsules into his organic kibble. Remember opening those cans that reeked to high heaven? Well, the dog to whom I served those along with whatever scrap of fat was left on my father’s plate lived to be 17 years old — and on Dog Bone Biscuits.
In lieu of the bone in your Christmas roast, the latest, healthy chew that is superior salve for gums and teeth is the elk antler. During a visit Katharine’s mother-in-law nabbed one for her Lab back at home but was told she could not carry it onto the airplane as it would be considered “a weapon.” I begged Katharine to sample the sweet potato biscuits, that root vegetable being a healthy alternative to the white russet, and one that we actually both prefer. When she readily took a bite, turns out she couldn’t masticate. Guess that one’s intended for canine canines only.
“Chris is going to leave me,” she chuckled at the thought of her husband’s reaction to her confession.
“Or want one of those gingerbread cakes for himself,” I proposed, right before I headed to the car to check out what Go Fetch! was offering at today’s bakery counter. When I walked in the door, the scent of cheese and garlic was intoxicating. Wheat-free cheese heart crackers touted rice flour, garlic, parsley, cream cheese, cheddar, and eggs. Dipped Puppy Paws were made of carob and then dipped in white chocolate, Garlic Bagels were literally just that, and for the sweet tooth? Pure and simple ginger cookies. My mouth watered as I texted Katharine with news of my local health food finds. She wrote back—jealous. But they were going out to dinner that night I reminded her—how about stopping off at Bonnie’s for dessert?
Gretchen Steele joins Heartland Outdoors
Jeff Lampe, of Lampe Publishing, is pleased to announce the addition of Gretchen Steele to the roster of bloggers and regular contributors to both the web-based and the published-monthly print versions of Heartland Outdoors. Both Heartland’s website and print version provide coverage of news about all types of outdoor recreation including, hunting, fishing, shooting sports and boating throughout the Midwest and the Heartland. Read more
Rippin’ Lips with the Fishin’ Chicks
October 26, 2010 by Katherine Browne
Filed under On the Road
Katherine Browne helping Courtney Stoddard land a nice kokanee salmon
Anyway, we got to our spot, rigged rods and changed into waders. Pam and Jim were already ready to go and patiently waited while Courtney and I got our act together. Finally ready, we crossed the river and walked upstream to our hole. Right now the Kokanee salmon, an introduced species of land-locked salmon, are spawning and there are pods staged up on the East, the Gunnison, and Taylor Rivers. I had fished this pod a week before with famed outdoorswoman Georgette Wood and her husband Rick and I knew they were there. It was Courtney’s first time out fly fishing and Pam and Jim’s first time fishing for Kokanee so I gave everyone my salmon fishing speech and showed Courtney some basic casting. The key to catching Kokanee salmon is setting the hook hard, they have very boney mouths that just get bonier as the spawn progresses. When fishing for Kokanee in the rivers you are fishing with a lot of weight, typically at least two AB’s depending on the weight of your flies and the depth of the hole. You are bound to catch bottom some of the time but I always say “when in doubt, set the hook”. Kokanee salmon are not eating during the spawn, they are striking because they are territorial. When a fly gets in front of a salmon they pick it up and spit it out of their way. Normally your indicator barely moves when the fish takes the fly and people often miss fish after fish because they aren’t recognizing the strike. They are not selective and you can catch salmon on almost any fly. Bright obnoxious flies tend to work the best. Egg patterns are also always successful. I was feeling lazy that day and didn’t want to re-rig my rod so I fished my trout rig with some added weight and caught the largest salmon of the day on a size 20 zebra midge on 5x tippet, and caught a couple nice trout.
In no time Pam, Jim, and Courtney were hooking up and catching their first salmon. We had a fantastic outing, everyone caught salmon and everyone had learned how to catch these fish by the time we were leaving. Salmon are great fighters and so much fun to catch. Pam and Courtney really learned how to keep their rod tips up, let the fish run when they hooked them, and learned to set the hook hard. “Cross his eyes” was what I told the ladies when they weren’t setting hard enough. Beyond fishing it is always amazing to get out with other women in the outdoors. I love the camaraderie, the venue, and I love empowering women through fly fishing. It was especially great to get my friend Courtney out for her first time fly fishing. She couldn’t stop telling me what an amazing time she had. She hadn’t realized how much fun fly fishing could be until I finally convinced her to try it. She told me afterwards that she caught more fish on our outing than she had caught her whole life. It is so gratifying to be able to teach something so basic as how to catch a fish to a woman and help her feel more powerful and self sufficient. Thank you Pam, Jim and Courtney for coming out and I look forward to our many adventures to come!
Katherine Browne and Pam Christian with a hen kokanee, Pam's first fish of the day
October ‘Fish Babe’ – Marsha Petrie Sue
October 21, 2010 by The WOMA
Filed under Our 'Fish Babe' of the Month
Marsha Petrie Sue says, "Here I am holding a 34-pound Yellow Eye from Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia. I reeled this fish up from 460 feet and had no help landing him." And, doesn't she look "slick?"
Grouse Hunting in Colorado
October 21, 2010 by The WOMA
Filed under On the Road
Katherine Browne, of Gunnison, Colo., guided Olympic biathlete Tracy Barnes on a recent grouse hunting trip. The women were part of the first annual WOMA retreat, hosted by Prois Hunting Apparel. The retreat featured three days of outdoor activities, including fly fishing, skeet shooting, grouse hunting and falconry. Read more
Sara Ahrens wins Otis ‘Group Goddess’ award
October 20, 2010 by Deborah Ferns
Filed under Kudos
Otis Technology became a Platinum Sponsor for our Babes with Bullets ™ program in early 2010. Their financial support is invaluable and their product support allows us to have a “shoot off” at each camp. Wondering what I mean by product support? Imagine dozens of women who come from across the U.S. to participate in a women’s firearms training camp. Once campers arrive, our head instructor, Kay Miculek, along with our senior instructor, Lisa Munson, quickly figure out who is moving on to an advance group with Lisa and what women will be in Kay’s more novice group. (There are more female instructors who assist as Kay and Lisa as we adhere to a “one instructor to 6 campers” ratio.) By the end of day two of camp, these two groups are already doing all the same action pistol drills with the advance group doing them at a faster pace. Read more
Road to Russia: Who needs snow?
October 19, 2010 by The WOMA
Filed under The Road to Russia
No snow? No problem! Tracy trains in Utah.
We are now in Jackson Hole, Wy., to celebrate the U.S. Biathlon’s 30-year anniversary. After that Tracy and I will spend part of next week training out here, then head home for a short break before we start our traveling and racing for the winter.
Our first stop is to Canmore, Alberta, to get on snow and have a few races against the Canadians. After that, we will start the World Cup season in Sweden and will end with World Championships in Russia. We have two World Cups in the U.S. this year in Maine and we are excited to race on U.S. soil and have the Europeans dealing with the time change and foreign trails. We’ll keep you posted on how things are progressing. Hope you’re having a great week.
-Tracy & Lanny Barnes, U.S. Biathlon Team
Lanny on the shooting range in Utah.
Baird featured contributor at new online publication, GunUp
Barbara Baird will be contributing articles to the new publication, GunUp. According to a press release regarding the launch of the new publication, GunUp, Inc. is the authoritative community for gun enthusiasts to share, discuss, review and compare guns and accessories with confidence. The new website provides new and experienced gun owners access to the latest data for guns in current production anywhere on the web utilizing GunUp’s advanced research tools, as in the GunUp GunFinder. GUestimate, a real-time pricing tool, allows users to have a better idea of a firearm’s present worth. Read more
