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The Cost of Staying Silent: What Happens When Abrasive Behavior Goes Unchecked
There’s a moment most leaders know well. You’ve just heard again… that a high-performing employee crossed a line. Maybe they humiliated someone in a meeting. Maybe they snapped at a colleague in front of the team. Maybe the complaints landing on your desk have quietly multiplied over the past several months. And you’ve done what…
The 5 Key Questions To Break Through What Keeps You From Addressing Abrasive Behavior
You know you need to talk to Claudie. You’ve known for months, maybe longer. Another employee came to your office yesterday—the third one this quarter—with the same story. Claudia yelled at them when they asked a simple question, spoke down to them like they were incompetent, and made them feel two inches tall in front…
6 Ways Your Family Dynamics Show Up In Meetings (And You Don’t Even Know It)
You’ve worked hard to build your professional life. You’ve earned degrees, climbed the ladder, developed expertise, you show up prepared, polished, and ready to lead. What nobody mentions in leadership training was that your family came with you. Not literally, of course. But the dynamics you learned growing up — how to handle conflict, when…
Why Interpersonal Success Requires Practice, Not Perfection
What most leaders get wrong about interpersonal skill, is that they think it’s something you either have or you don’t. You’re either “a people person” or you’re not. You’re either good at difficult conversations or you avoid them. You’re either naturally empathetic or you’re more task-focused. Interpersonal success isn’t a personality trait, it’s a practice.…
Feedback Done Right: 3 Tips to Avoid Abrasive Feedback & Create Psychological Safety
To avoid abrasive feedback while maintaining psychological safety, it’s essential to communicate in a way that fosters growth without causing discomfort or offense. Many leaders think they can’t give constructive feedback and maintain psychological safety at the same time. Just last week, during a leadership training, a leader asked me, “How do I give feedback…
Giving Recognition to your “Steady Eddy” Employees
As a leader, giving recognition to your “Steady Eddy” Employees is just as important as putting out fires. So much time goes to dealing with employees who exhibit disrespectful, abrasive, and overall negative behavior. Before you know it, most of your attention has gone to the problem employee and overlook the employee whose behavior is…
Say Goodbye To The Workplace Drama Triangle And Hello To Strong Boundaries
Have you encountered drama in your workplace lately? Let me introduce you to the Workplace Drama Triangle, its roles, and strategies for navigating and resolving conflict efficiently. It may sound like a silly question since leaders often describe disagreements as escalating into unnecessary drama that takes away from getting work done. A conflict resolution called…
How to Deal with an Abrasive Co-Worker or Boss
Do you know how to deal with an abrasive co-worker or boss? Are you sensing pushback when you try to connect with colleagues or bosses who are edgy, irritable, and short-tempered? Are you feeling a sense of pushback when you try to connect with colleagues or bosses who don’t know how to communicate? Do you…
Does your Staff Meeting Remind you of a Tense Holiday Meal?
Imagine you have a high-performing team member, let’s call him Rob. He’s worked for your organization for years and knows your business inside out. While Rob is one of your most valued employees from a performance perspective, he has some rough edges in how he treats people. When projects don’t go as planned, his temper…
An Uncommon Yet Effective Approach to Address Abrasive Behavior
Casey is preparing for a conversation he’d rather avoid. He’s about to meet with one of his top-performing managers who is a consistent high revenue generator for the company. The manager has been with the company for almost fifteen years and is widely respected for her expertise in their industry. The conversation isn’t about the…