Dear Emily, Earlier this year, I mentored a team member who was taking on additional responsibilities and learning new processes. As she was not a new employee, I expected her onboarding to go quickly and smoothly, and became frustrated when she was not growing in her independence and understanding in the timeframe I anticipated. After …

This op-ed from Joseph Grenny and his colleagues Tim Stay and Dave Durocher at The Other Side Academy was recently published in The Deseret News. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, cities and municipalities across the nation are desperately trying to find solutions to eliminate police brutality, especially …

Dear Justin, We are learning how to use videoconferencing as our new meeting platform. Do you have tips for facilitating meetings to promote participation and feedback, as many people seem uncomfortable because they can’t read non-verbal cues from others? Also, do you have effective methods for guiding people with interaction? No one is using the …

Adapted from an article written March 22, 2020 March 2020 will go down in history as the month that changed everything. In a matter of weeks, the novel coronavirus spread rapidly across the globe, rocking governments, stock markets, healthcare systems, education systems, entertainment, travel, you name it. Seemingly, nothing was spared. Routine life has been …

Dear David, Our organization is non-profit with a family-oriented culture. Unfortunately, we act like a family that has no accountability. Instead of holding people to account, our approach is to avoid and dumb down. No one is ever fired for poor performance. People arrive late, fail to complete time-sensitive tasks, and chat a lot—I mean …

Visit the Crucial Skills blog to read Al Switzler’s response to this question: What do you do when you feel you are falsely accused?

Dear Joseph, I am on the leadership team of an organization that is in the beginning stages of a significant cultural change. In reflecting on the work in front of us, I realized that I do not trust the CEO to lead us through this change. This is a person I like and respect, but …

Dear David, I have a coworker who has FMLA approval (Federal Medical Leave Act), and I think she abuses it. She doesn’t come to work on time. Multiple times she has run out of the office, citing various personal issues—issues not related to her FMLA approved issues. We have all agreed as a team that …