Tag: group dynamics
Leading from the Middle of an Indifferent Leadership Team
A newly hired VP called me the other day, expressing frustration with her indecisive and apathetic colleagues. My unspoken response was: “They’re not even strong enough to be a Team of Rivals.” When a leadership... Continue reading
What To Do If Your Boss Brainstorms for All the Wrong Reasons
One of the kinds of leaders who can drive employees crazy is the “Brainstormy” Boss, who creates a work environment that’s as changeable as the weather. It’s Raining Ideas! When brainstorming is used appropriately -- as... Continue reading
Reframing a Tattler’s Tale
Have you ever had to work with a tattletale? The parallels between childhood tattling and workplace tale-bearing came to mind while I was visiting a friend whose child kept appealing for adult intervention in her... Continue reading
How to Handle Workplace Tantrums and Meltdowns
A manager in a creative industry wrote in to ask how she can deal with a colleague who regularly throws hissy fits, all of which follow a similar pattern. The Hisser has a periodic and... Continue reading
Can You Handle the Truth of a Compassionate Confrontation?
In some organizations, the fear of overt, explicit conflict -- and the pain and disruption that it can engender -- is even stronger than the fear of leaving existentially damaging problems unaddressed. You may have... Continue readingHow to Use Shared Values and Empathy to Defuse Conflict
Last week’s post on workplace conflict looked at the impact of personal differences and style as well as the roles that different individuals might take in instigating or sustaining a conflict. The next step in... Continue readingWhy Conflict Happens at Work, and How You Can Think About It
We all experience conflict on the job. Just the act of trying to coordinate activities with others -- or, actually, any attempt at working together -- can trigger conflict, even if everyone involved cares about... Continue reading