Dear Crucial Skills, I’m a manager in a tech company that seems to be clueless. While I know unemployment is high, management seems to be oblivious to the fact that we are losing some of our key people to poaching by competitors. We haven’t increased salaries in the past two years and I’ve personally lost …
Dear Crucial Skills, Our organization took a hit last year and many people were laid off. I was lucky to stay but now I feel overwhelmed by the amount of work and responsibilities that I’m required to do in others’ absence. I don’t want to look like I can’t handle my workload and I especially …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is author of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, Our company has a review policy called the 70/20/10 rule. This means that 70 percent of my staff must be rated “Meets Expectations,” only 20 percent can be rated “Exceeds Expectations,” and worst …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is author of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I need advice on how to have a conversation with a subordinate about her provocative attire. It’s tricky because her clothes are clean and very nice—just more revealing than is appropriate for our …
Dear Crucial Skills, I’m holding a performance review with one of my direct reports. The way we do it here is that he rates himself first. Next, I provide a rating and lots of data to support it. It’s not unusual for the employee to offer a higher rating than the supervisor, but this time …
Dear Crucial Skills, Our hospital offers Crucial Conversations Training, so I was greatly disappointed to witness a recent firing that felt very wrong. A manager who had been with the organization for fifteen years was devoted to her job, but at times, seemed overwhelmed with its demands. Many were concerned about her poor follow-up on …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is author of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. Dear Crucial Skills, I have always tried hard to contribute to my company. And yet, when I went to the Crucial Conversations Training, I realized I often did not express myself when I should to avoid making waves. …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is author of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. Dear Crucial Skills, I have a big problem that I’m sure other office managers face. How does a manager stop the rumor and gossip mill? Nothing is said that isn’t around the office within five minutes and even …
Dear Crucial Skills, I read your survey results on long-distance loathing with great interest. I work for a multi-site corporation and approximately two-thirds of our staff are in one city while the rest are dispersed over five smaller sites. Despite significant efforts to bring our teams together, there is still a strong sense of us …
Dear Crucial Skills, I joined my family business seven years ago. We have since grown the firm by 200 percent. Despite our success, I’ve had several struggles with my sister, who has a history of either showing up late or not showing up at all. I have talked to her, but she doesn’t feel the …
