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Have you ever been "Omarosa'd"?
I love watching The Celebrity Apprentice just to see what’s going to happen next. It never ceases to amaze me how unprofessional people can act, even when they’re being filmed.
This season, Piers Morgan and Omarosa have been fighting non-stop about everything and anything. Their constant bickering is great for Donald Trump because it gets us all to tune in each week to see what will happen next; but it is a disgusting display of unprofessional behaviour, and what not to do.
Piers knows he has not responded well to Omarosa’s taunts; she made personal accusations about his family, and he rose to her bait, something he later regretted.
Have you ever worked with someone who just loved to push your buttons? Who knew how to make you say and do things you shouldn’t (especially in front of the wrong people)?
There is an old saying that goes: You should never wrestle with a pig. You both get very dirty and the pig enjoys it.
Don’t get Omarosa’d. Don’t get pulled into the mud for the enjoyment (or advancement) of others. Pretend there’s a television camera filming your every move, and take the high road.
What to do:
- Never yell in a professional environment. Even if the person you are speaking with is yelling at the top of their lungs, don’t yell back. What you should really focus on doing is lowering your voice rather than raising it. Just above a whisper is perfect. I would rather have the entire office wondering who the quiet voice is than knowing it is my voice yelling. There is no way you can look good if you are yelling, ever.
- Remain calm. This includes keeping a relaxed stance. I prefer to have any confrontation standing rather than sitting, but in some cases, remaining calm and relaxed in a chair is preferable to standing, because it makes you look calmer than you really feel. Remaining calm means holding eye contact, sitting still, perhaps even having your legs crossed. Keep your voice low, your speech steady (not too fast) and don’t get pulled into an emotional scene. Anger is contagious, don’t catch another person’s anger.
- Don’t interrupt. Even if your Omarosa is taking 10 minutes to state her case, let her state it. Don’t defend, don’t interrupt, let her exhaust everything she has to say. If necessary, take notes so you can come back to specific points later. Use lots of silence breaks to your advantage. Your silence will allow your Omarosa to say and do even more things she will regret later.
- Be the first one to leave. After someone has attacked me, I am typically not in the best frame of mind to continue this conversation and I can pretty much guarantee that I will say something I’ll regret later. When the other person has finished speaking, say something along these lines: “I feel bad that this situation has come to this. I agree that we need to discuss it further; however, I am not prepared at this point to continue the conversation. Let’s get together tomorrow afternoon with someone from Human Resources (or the manager) and continue this discussion in a professional manner.” Then stand up, and leave, even if it is your office.
- Be professional. Always remember that your professional reputation is on the line and never stoop to unprofessionalism.
In the boardroom, when Donald invited Piers to rejoin them to defend himself against Omarosa’s accusations, I was hoping he wouldn’t do it. I didn’t want him to stoop to her level again.
At this point, Omarosa was accusing Piers of being a closet homosexual. In response, Piers walked into the boardroom and kissed country singer Trace Adkins on the cheek, and then walked calmly out again. I wanted to stand up and cheer. It was perfect! He didn’t get defensive and he didn’t yell. Donald Trump even said, admiringly, “I get what he’s doing. That was great.” It made Piers look professional, and gave him the last word (even if that word was a kiss).
We all have our own Omarosas in our life, and have all done or said something in the moment that we have regretted. But we can learn from the mistakes of our past, and mistakes of others. In our professional life, it’s best to pretend there is a television camera on us every day, and act accordingly.
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