The following article was first published on October 5, 2005. Dear Crucial Skills, I manage a large staff of around seventy nurses. How do I begin to change the culture from no accountability to full accountability? We are not speaking of the patient care aspects—the staff is outstanding in this area. I’m concerned about everything …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Authors, I am the first to admit that I do not do well during crucial conversations—especially if the person I am having the conversation with gets angry. I immediately go silent. …
Dear Al, My two sons share a four bedroom house with three other students at college. The three other students initially wanted other living accommodations for next year, while my sons wanted to stay. So my boys found two other students to share the house, and nobody wants to share a room. One of the …
Dear Authors, We have a twenty-something nurse on our staff who is a “know-it-all,” which the rest of us with many years of nursing experience find hard to fathom. She is aggressive and disrespectful to her colleagues, saying things such as “You’re not doing that procedure right,” or “That’s not the right way to do …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Authors, My question concerns when you know you are going to have a meeting—at the request of someone else whose purpose is to confront you or “blast” you. How does one …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, My 16-year-old daughter survived the grueling tryout process and was made drum major of the marching band. Naturally, she was elated; but then she asked “What am I …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Authors, I recently found out that someone who was a confidante and a friend has been speaking badly about me to our mutual mentor. My relationship with this mentor has been …
Dear Crucial Skills, During monthly “Church Council” meetings, the norm has been for one or more outbursts to occur. More often than that not, the issue surrounds church finances or something our senior pastor has or has not done. As chairperson of the meeting, how can I best defuse volatile outbursts during meetings while still …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, At a large family gathering, my four-year-old son threw a temper tantrum wanting his cake and ice cream in a bowl rather than on a plate. My wife told him …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I work as an RN and Clinic Coordinator in an Occupational Health clinic. Recently, we had a terroristic threat from a patient and the security guards were called to stand …
