Blog
Is Your Childhood Conflict Pattern Showing Up in Your Leadership?
You’re in a tense meeting. A project has derailed. Emotions are running high. How do you respond? Do you take control and demand compliance?Avoid the conversation altogether?Smooth things over with excessive reassurance?Crack a joke to lighten the mood? What most leaders don’t realize is, the way you handle conflict today was likely learned by age…
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The Uninvited Guests at Your Holiday Table (And How to Handle Them)
You’re sitting at the Thanksgiving table. The turkey is carved. The conversation is flowing. But there’s a heaviness in the air that no one’s naming. Your brother made that comment about your job… again. Your uncle is steering every conversation toward politics. Your mother-in-law’s passive-aggressive remarks are landing with precision. The table is supposed to…
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The 3 C’s of Difficult Conversations: How to Stay Grounded When the Conversation Gets Tough
As a leader, Ben knew he needed to address Bob’s abrasive behavior. Bob had a pattern of dismissing colleagues’ ideas in meetings, sending curt emails that left people feeling belittled, and making sarcastic comments that created tension across the team. Ben found every reason to avoid the conversation. He anticipated Bob being defensive. He worried…
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What an Airline Captain Taught Me About Building Team Cohesion
Our plane had just arrived late, making our departure likely to be delayed. Several passengers were going to miss their connecting flights. You could feel the tension in the air. Then something unexpected happened. The captain, a woman who clearly knew how to lead, came out to the gate, took the microphone, and calmly described…
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How To Build Inner Resources, Resolve, and Resiliency Through Emotional Intelligence
What inner resources, resolve, and resiliency will help you cope with demands, distractions, and disappointments at work? During one of my workshops, I asked managers to share their experiences with the challenges they face in today’s workplace. Their answers revealed the emotional toll of unresolved organizational conflict: “We are expected to do more in less…
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7 Ways to Be a Terrible Boss (And Why You Should Do the Opposite)
A fun guide to leadership fails, and how to turn them around. Ever wonder what separates great leaders from the ones employees complain about around the water cooler? Sometimes it’s easier to spot what not to do than to figure out the right approach. So let’s have some fun with it. Here’s a list of…
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How Leaders Can Defuse Gossip Before It Spreads
We’ve all seen it happen. A comment that starts out as a genuine concern about a co-worker quickly turns into whispers, assumptions, and half-truths. Gossip may feel harmless in the moment, but over time it quietly erodes trust and chips away at your team’s culture. As a leader, your role isn’t just to keep projects…
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When a Toxic Workplace Becomes Your Turning Point: Choosing to Grow
A toxic workplace or dysfunctional environment can leave you feeling like you’re stuck between two painful options: leave… or stay and endure. But what if there’s a third option? One that puts your well-being, growth, and inner strength at the center of your decision—not just survival. This is the perspective I want to offer: Stay…and…
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When Your Best Performer Starts Slipping: The Hidden Cost of Incivility
When your best performer starts slipping, you’re not just seeing a dip in productivity; you’re witnessing the hidden cost of incivility ripple through your team. You know the employee I’m talking about. You know the employee I’m talking about. The one who’s always gone above and beyond. Shows up early. Delivers quality work. Encourages her…
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3 Subtle Ways You May Be Undermining Your Work Culture
It doesn’t always take a major disruption to damage work culture. Sometimes, all it takes is letting things slide, over and over again. In my time as a family therapist and now as a workplace conflict expert, I’ve seen it too often: issues are ignored in the name of empathy or avoidance, and by the…
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