I have a domineering boss who micromanages everything I do. He has no filter when speaking to me and often is just outright rude. Whenever I send out a piece of work, he finds fault with it and tries to undermine my confidence. Having read online about his characteristics, I truly believe he suffers from narcissism. The sad fact is that he gets results and senior management love him, so he is untouchable. How can I deal with this aside from leaving the company?

I’m a great fan of your work, in particular Crucial Conversations. One thing I am struggling with, however, is how to practice these skills before applying them in a really Crucial Conversation. As all skills go, they need a certain level of mastery before you can rely on them when things get out of hand. What do you recommend?

At my last performance review, my boss was extremely positive and gave me great feedback, so I was horrified to later discover that he gave me a score of “below average” on the formal paperwork. I arranged a meeting with him to find out why. That’s when he told me I was disengaged, did not challenge myself, and did not collaborate well with others. I got angry and now he won’t talk to me. What should I do?

Working in the “new normal” is challenging since we have to fundamentally rethink how we work and how we communicate in a hybrid work environment. Can you share any insights, best practices, or strategies?

How do you tell an employee they talk too much? My employee often talks to the point of having to tune them out. They give every little detail and then repeat themselves and I cannot get a word in edgewise and I have to wait until they take a breath to interrupt them. I end up focusing on them taking that breath instead of listening.

I have an employee who makes negative comments and tries to undermine leadership. She is a great teacher, but she creates a toxic environment with our staff, and she has a strong influence on them. How can I handle this behavior?

My supervisor has been micromanaging employees, disclosing project information that shouldn’t be, and generally just overstepping communication boundaries. I have stopped sharing information with them for fear that they will share it too soon or in the wrong way. My question is this: How do I have a Crucial Conversation with my supervisor about this?

I have a close friend who recently they told me their views on vaccines, mandates, and masks, and now I see them differently. They were vocal and opinionated. I would be lying if I said it hasn’t affected our interactions. I really like my friend, but I feel they aren’t being reasonable or rational. Every time I think about talking with them, I get annoyed and irritated. What can I do?

I find that I am asked to do more in a day than I can actually accomplish. Each day, I might get ten things done but twenty new tasks get added to my list, so the list just grows and never shrinks.

My 27-year-old son moved in with me and my husband before the pandemic and planned to buy a house last spring. He has since enrolled in grad school and it’s now a seller’s market, so he is still here. The problem is that we have a four-bedroom house, and we want it all to ourselves.