1.	You are in charge of a new project. Due to uncertainties in the environment, it was put on hold for one week. Suddenly, your boss gives the green signal and expects you to adhere to all the previous deadlines. You: Send out a strong memo saying, "It is impossible.’’ Keep quiet, as you don’t like being outspoken or bringing up controversial issues. Send a courteous but firm note reminding him of the time loss due to the project being on hold, and requesting an extension of eight days.
2.	You are attending a two-day in-house workshop on interpersonal skills, organized by the HR Department, which you are finding useful. Halfway through, you receive a message that your boss wants you back due to some urgent work. You: Leave immediately after informing the faculty, but feel irritated and resentful. Call the boss and explain that your staying and completing the course has value for you and your department, and offer to come early next morning and finish the task. Ask the HR head to speak to your boss (as you know she fells strongly about this issue of people being pulled away from a training program.
3.	As a new (and relatively - junior) member of a project team, you find a project update meeting is held every month, which you have not been asked to attend so far. This is your third month of joining the team and you are feeling left out. You: Bite our lip and say nothing. May be ‘they’ feel you don’t have much to contribute at your level. Meet the project leader and request that you be allowed to attend, as it would enable you to understand the ‘big picture’ and help you contribute in a more meaningful way. Burst out with, ‘‘How am I to know? Ask the people who attend the project update meeting when the project leader asks you the status of some part of the project.
4.	When you go into your boss room for discussions, you end up waiting for long periods of time as he receives phone calls. You: Politely explain to him that this situation is causing you discomfort and request that he switch his cell phone off for the 20 minutes of your meeting time. One day can’t contain yourself and walk out, even though your boss has gestured to you to wait. Fret and fume at this waste of time, but feel you are in no position to say anything. After all, he is the boss.
5.	You have been overloaded with work for the last couple of months and are feeling very pressurized right now with pending deadlines, unanswered mail, etc. Suddenly, your boss pops in and asks you to collate some ‘urgent’ data right away. You say: "I don’t know anything about this data. Let me first streamline my work, then I’ll see." “Okay fine” but inwardly gnash your teeth. “You have asked for the Hamlin report by tomorrow morning and the vendor-rating summary by tomorrow evening. If I work on this data, everything shifts by half a day; is it okay?”