Clients: 1 888 680 7234, Email thecoach@radiocoach.biz, Radio Talent Coach Sam Weaver is an air talent coaching authority in terrestrial radio, online radio, and podcasting.  Sam makes his services affordable for veteran announcers and broadcast beginners. Personalities of all formats including talk radio are welcomed.

(My weekly column  at Allaccess.com, Coaches Corner)

OFFICE RELATIONS
Let work results be the sole source for judgement. Be a team player, stay focused, and friendly. Attend company parties and participate in spontaneous celebrations such as ratings parties. In either case, do not get drunk, and be careful not say anything that could cause future problems. Be on guard, even with those that can be trusted. Overheard off-color party jokes can turn into gossip and a political nightmare. Do not be paranoid, but use discretion. If accompanied by a spouse or friend to one of these functions, explain what not to say or do. Going to lunch or an occasional happy hour with co-workers is fine. But keep those defenses up. Be a compassionate listener and fight the urge to offer an opinion on work or a fellow employee. Smile and use a lot of noncommittal phrases like, “No kidding”, “I hear you”, “Really”, “You think so”, ” I don’t know enough about that”, “What do you think is going to happen?” “We’ll see”, “Can you believe it?” etc., etc. Numerous things can be done to remain above it all and stay out of the fray. Department meetings are the place for work-related opinions. After a certain amount of time, a few actual friendships will develop. These bonding experiences will be special and probably last a lifetime. Cherish the reality and do not let it or others jeopardize personal goals. How can a true office friendship be recognized? Hopefully, after avoiding all the pitfalls, a sincere effort will be made by someone.

ROMANCE
The percentages for successful office dating are not good. Such unions usually end badly. Be single and discrete if a decision is made to have a relationship with another single person at work. It is a tricky situation, and can be the basis for charges of favoritism and discrimination. Fight the temptation to allow personal feelings for the other person to cause conflict with co-workers. Never become defensive or offensive as a result of things said or done in the office towards the love interest in question. If the relationship does not work out, keep the breakup as discrete as the romance. One of the most uncomfortable situations is the breakup of romantically involved office personnel. It can lead to problems. The following is a true story:

Two single air personalities were openly dating each other at work. They broke-up and he became disconnected personally and professionally. Many staffers took sides and department meetings were tense. Lots of “He said-She said”. Fortunately, she left for a position at another Broadcast Company. Unfortunately, he attempted to date her replacement, and in doing so, revealed in private that her predecessor made more money. She immediately wanted a meeting and informed management that he had shared the monetary information, and she tried to renegotiate her agreement The incident was a mess, and the only good thing that came out of it, was the fact that they too broke-up.

However, there was another inter-office romance between two single people that resulted in a 15-year marriage and two children. So, nothing is impossible

Office romance between married people married to other people is a disaster waiting to happen. Regular cloak and dagger stuff. There have been many stories of such liaisons ending up in spousal screaming matches in office lobbies. Events such as these could cause others to take their eyes off office productivity and such meandering results in political complications and loss of jobs.

ROMANCES OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
Extramarital affairs outside the office should be kept away from work. Never involve fellow workers by bringing a new love interest to a company function. Obviously, there are co-workers that know the unsuspecting spouse and or children. There is no reason to expose others to a potential domestic dispute or put them in the middle of something that could wind-up in divorce court. This sort of thing is always poor office politics.

REQUEST LINES
Request line regulars become confessionals for some jocks. Therefore, never share station business, personal problems, or opinions about co-workers. However, there are times when these regular callers can be used to pass on misinformation to other stations or to complement a fellow jock. There have actually been situations where upcoming promotions have fallen into the hands of the competition due to a request line conversation. These phone regulars are groupies that love to talk to air personalities and will talk to anyone or any station. They mean no harm, but can unknowingly be dangerous or helpful. Just be a compassionate listener, and occasionally pump them for information about the competitor. Conquer the office political world and experience a smoother work environment.

Here are 10 Things To Help Survive Office Politics:
Establish a good relationship with your supervisor
Finish assignments on time
Do not gossip
Be a team player
Make learning a priority
Stay out of clicks
Make friends and relationships outside work
Do not be a complainer
Use the company computer for company business only
Do not let the phone distract you from work. Some personal calls are necessary, but do not let the workday resemble that of a telephone operator. Focus your energies on work.

Radio employees should approach the job like office temps. Smile, contribute, do not make unnecessary waves, and work with others. Learn to compromise, because the only thing that matters are results. Managers, make decisions. It is either “yes or no”. A “maybe” should come to a conclusion in a timely fashion. Non-managers follow directions and get clarification to complete assignments. Above all, one should always leave a supervisor in a defensible position. Let them know immediately if something goes wrong. They can then proactively analyze and find a solution to the problem. When it comes to office politics, treat others, the way you would like to be treated.