No matter how good people are at what they do, no matter how talented, skilled, or knowledgeable they are, the most important factor - and often the most frustrating challenge - in determining their success and satisfaction in the workplace is their ability to forge effective relationships at work. Most people quit their jobs or are fired not because of their performance but because of interpersonal problems. The result is not only painful for them but costly for employers.

Working Relationships peels back the layers of silence and avoidance that often characterize poor work relationships, shows how to get people talking, and offers positive guidelines for building healthy on-the-job relations. Exploring the hidden causes of relationship problems at work - ambiguous communication, incompatible goals, the stress of overload, and the inability to handle disagreement - this book shows how to take the first step toward resolving them by initiating the conversation that is "dying to happen." It offers a step-by-step approach for diagnosing the underlying problem in a dysfunctional work relationship and provides the tools for confronting difficult issues.

Illustrating a thoughtful, constructive process through lively examples and over thirty helpful exercises, this book shows readers how to depersonalize workplace conflict, expand their influence, and build trust with others

Bob Wall is an organization development and training consultant with more than twenty years of experience consulting to multinational corporations, small to midsize companies, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions. He is coauthor of The Mission-Driven Organization.