When Feedback Feels Abusive
I’ve had trouble with employees being vigilant to hold peers accountable, but in a way that isn’t very kind. How do you encourage peer accountability and ensure it doesn’t end up as a form of bullying?
Posts by Brittney Maxfield
Crucial Conversations in Customer Service
I work in the agricultural industry as a sales rep. Sometimes I must go out to a customer when a product has not met their expectations. I just started reading Crucial Conversations, and I also have Crucial Confrontations. Any areas I should focus on to better handle these situations?
How to Confront Bullying Behavior at Work
I work with a senior employee who is passive-aggressive, interrupts the boss, pontificates, challenges direction he does not agree with, and diminishes team morale. I’d like to talk with him about this, but not sure how to begin or what to say. Can you help?
Why People Go to Silence and How to Help Them Open Up
What is the root cause for people to choose silence rather than to verbalize what they want or need from others? Why would they avoid having a Crucial Conversation at the expense of what they need?
How to Know Whether to Let Someone Go
How do you know whether to let someone go? My spouse and I own a startup that we are funding ourselves. We hired a sales rep last year and they’ve made one sale so far, not nearly enough to sustain their role. I am full of self-doubt about what to do. Is it our product? Collateral? Their skills? Tell me what I can do.
How to Lead a Work-from-Home Workforce
Working in the “new normal” is challenging since we have to fundamentally rethink how we work and how we communicate in a hybrid work environment. Can you share any insights, best practices, or strategies?
How to Have a Crucial Conversation with Your Boss
My supervisor has been micromanaging employees, disclosing project information that shouldn’t be, and generally just overstepping communication boundaries. I have stopped sharing information with them for fear that they will share it too soon or in the wrong way. My question is this: How do I have a Crucial Conversation with my supervisor about this?
Speak Up to Keep Up: One Trick to Manage To-Dos
I find that I am asked to do more in a day than I can actually accomplish. Each day, I might get ten things done but twenty new tasks get added to my list, so the list just grows and never shrinks.
Working with a Difficult Direct Report
I have a direct report. He is very volatile, not at all a team player. Everyone gets along great in the department except him. He always tries to point out everyone’s faults but not his own. He is very difficult to talk to. How can I overcome this?
Is Confidence Killing Your Career?
My supervisor is intimidated by me and is unable to have a solid conversation with me because he’s worried I will be confrontational. How can I have a Crucial Conversation with him so that he won’t avoid talking with me?