Dear Crucial Skills, I love my job but would like to transfer out of the department due to my manager, “Bob.” He used to be an ok coworker until our then-manager retired and as the most senior of our team, he got promoted. I was on maternity leave at the time, and when I returned, …
Dear Crucial Skills, I work in a religious organization. In the organization’s culture, the rank and file employee has very little ability to raise questions about policies or directives without being seen as not only challenging the authority/expertise of the applicable supervisor, but sometimes as being “out of line” ecclesiastically. What compounds this problem is …
Dear Crucial Skills, I’m a partner in a small law firm in a small town. I’m about to have a Crucial Conversation with a fairly new secretary who is doing a lot of personal stuff on ‘company’ time. Two problems: 1) the secretary who shared her concerns with me about this new secretary doesn’t want …
Lately it seems the evolution of corporate leadership has come full circle: feared tyrants to spineless pushovers and back again to oppressive leaders. This cyclical trend sparks a timeless debate: which management style is better for business? The “nasty boss” or the “nice boss”? For more than two decades, we have spent more than 10,000 …
Dear Crucial Skills, My ten-year-old daughter has shared with me that her teacher is using words like “damn,” “stupid,” and “shut up” in the classroom. These aren’t words we use in our home and they are making her uncomfortable. She said the teacher made one boy who was misbehaving stand up in front of the …
Summer vacation time is on its way out and the doldrums of winter are settling in. Have you taken your much-needed vacation yet? If not, you’re not alone. It seems corporate America is experiencing a vanishing vacation pandemic. In an effort to get ahead and secure finance and job security in a volatile economy, managers …
Dear Crucial Skills, My wife asked a friend of ours to help her with a home improvement project. Since then there have been other similar types of projects and he is now coming over to the house on a regular basis. In some worrisome ways their friendship seems too close. I have not found them …
In today’s fast-paced, multi-national, interdependent world, how do you talk about important topics with people whose specialty, culture, or physical location make it difficult to freely and clearly speak your mind? Here are some tips for bridging the gap—whether it’s across departments or across oceans. Avoid e-mail. When stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, My husband asked my help in a situation at his job and I’m turning it over to you, the experts! Two newer coworkers have formed an alliance and …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron McMillan is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, A friend has an office director with a clear cut drinking problem. The drinking has, at times, interfered with the director’s ability to carry out his work to his …
