ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability, Influencer, and Change Anything. READ MORE Listen to Kerrying On via iTunes It’s Valentine’s Day, 1968 and my mother is holding a heart-shaped box. She abruptly opens the cardboard container to reveal a pathetic looking array of chocolates—one …
Dear Crucial Skills, In my organization, I keep hearing that senior management does not empower middle management and that middle management does not empower the front line workers. How can Crucial Conversations help every level feel more empowered? Signed, Seeking Power Dear Seeking Power, When the empowerment movement became popular in the mid 80s, the …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, The director of the agency I work for has decided (after three years) to call us in every month or so to discuss what’s going on in our departments and …
Dear Crucial Skills, I have a problem. Our business results are below expectations and upper management believes it’s because our supervisors are not holding their employees accountable for results. I have witnessed times when an employee does something not according to company policy and the employee’s immediate supervisor does nothing. We have had training courses …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, My problem is the type of meetings my boss runs. There are few dynamics, the same items appear on the minutes, people give a 30 second report on these items, …
I’d like some help on receiving criticism. My problem is that there is one executive in my organization who finds fault with my work and I find myself immediately on the defensive. I am intimidated by her confrontational style. I do not report to her, but she has taken several opportunities to critique my performance. Sometimes I would like to say “don’t shoot the messenger,” “I didn’t create the timeline,” or “it’s not my fault that your VP doesn’t share information with you,” but I also want to learn to buck it up.
Any ideas on how not to turn into the Tasmanian Devil or the Doe in the Headlights?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, What do you do when the people who report to you seem uncomfortable in your presence? I do my best to create an open atmosphere and yet people seem guarded. …
Dear Crucial Skills, Sometimes I look at the possibility of holding a Crucial Conversation and wonder if it’s really worth it. I know that the other person isn’t likely to change and that he or she may become upset with me—maybe even try to get even with me—so overall it looks too risky to speak …
Today’s thought comes by way of my neighbor Dr. Alan Christensen, a professor of Maya history and language. At one point in his life he had been a dentist, but he tired of the “grind” and went back to school to study his first love—the Maya. It is this part of his life that I find most fascinating.
