People often ask what it was like to write Crucial Conversations with four authors. Sometimes it’s asked with a voyeuristic fascination, as though the unstated question is, “Were there some knock-down, drag-out fights along the way?” The truth is it took a lot of Crucial Conversations to write Crucial Conversations.
I often find myself in audience settings—such as a theater, concert, class or worship service—with chatty neighbors whose whispered (or loud) conversations disturb the peace of everyone around them.
Dear Joseph, I have a stubborn stepson who refuses to speak with his father. He thinks his father doesn’t love him, which is not so. What can I say to him so he’ll open up? Signed,Getting Through Dear Getting Through, First, with no background about your stepson’s life, history with dad, or relationship with you, …
Joseph explains that the trick to fostering social connection in virtual workspaces is “forced spontaneity.”
A little over a year ago I was promoted at work and presented with two options, one of which entailed leading a scientific program that I had spent more than two years developing with my supervisor. I declined the other choice because of the opportunity to lead this exciting new program.
Your advice for dealing with conflict often involves trying to see the other person as “reasonable and rational.” But what if this person is clearly not reasonable and rational. What if they are simply unable to listen, to reason, and to carry out any kind of agreement on how to “get along”? What if they can neither conceive of nor agree to “ground rules”?
I am 63½ and considering retirement next year. The key word here is “considering.” I have not finalized my decision. Recently my supervisor asked if I was over 60 and if I was going to retire. It caught me off guard. I mentioned that I was concerned that talking about retirement would label me as a “short-timer” and limit my ability to further my training and projects. I told her I had seen this happen to others in the company. I assured her I was not planning to retire this year and the discussion was dropped.
In this short video, Joseph Grenny offers three tips for keeping political conversations out of the workplace. Confirm whether it’s a problem. You might run a survey to see how many have been affected by political conversations and determine whether a sizable portion of your team would like to see them stop. If so… Don’t …
