Dear Crucial Skills, My brother has a small IT business and usually employs four to five people at a time. He recently employed a twenty-year-old college student we’ll call Mark. Because of his girlfriend’s unexpected pregnancy, Mark had to stop studying and finds himself raising a family. His family situation is complex; he commutes about …
Dear Crucial Skills, How do you respond to work colleagues who complain that management never asks our opinion? I agree it’s good to get insight from management on how and why things are the way they are. But my coworkers seem to forget there are some things administration just can’t get everyone’s viewpoint on—because a …
We’re excited to announce that Emily Hoffman, a Senior Master Trainer as well as VitalSmarts’ VP of Development & Delivery, will become a regular contributor to the Crucial Skills Newsletter. Dear Crucial Skills, A friend of mine works in a small office. She has a new coworker who sits on the other side of her …
Dear Crucial Skills, I often run into a brick wall when trying to have a crucial conversation with workaholics. It seems as if they will work with you only if it increases their power or they can exercise control over you. What can I do to get some cooperation? Signed, Frustrated coworker Dear Frustrated, Thank …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Emily Moss is a Master Trainer and Senior Director of Client Training and Employee Development at VitalSmarts. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I recently got a call from the head of another department. He asked me, “Why are the analysts afraid to ask you for a work product?” I tried to build …
Dear Crucial Skills, I am a nursing supervisor in a nursing home. Most of our patients are white and most of our staff is non-white. Our staff is frequently subjected to vile, racist treatment and remarks by our patients. Naturally, this creates a very difficult working situation. Our staff provides quality care day after day …
