Back in March, after seeing the latest Tarantino flick, Dave posted on dealing with strong emotions. He asked some important questions: Do the darker emotions we fail to recognize and work with in some active way have the potential to sneak up on us unawares and do more damage? And… if that’s true, what… Read more →
How to say no and still say yes
This week I mediated a conflict between a manager and an employee. One of the conversations they had was related to workload and boundaries. The staff person self-identified as a “yes man”, always wanting to help out and always having difficulty saying no. Both parties agreed that he needed to practice drawing “lines in the… Read more →
An Ounce of Prevention – Part 2
Several weeks ago I wrote about what makes an organizational leader effective in managing conflict. In that original post, I suggested that if all managers were well equipped to lead meetings, coach employees to resolve issues directly with each other and informally mediate tensions between staff when necessary, our company’s work would dry up. I recently realized that… Read more →
Eric’s Baby Girl!
Many congratulations to FS Partner Eric Stutzman and his family on the birth of his baby girl, born yesterday – a whole month early! Mama and baby are doing well. Wishing you all the best as you embrace the adventure of getting to know each other!
I’m Sorry
A colleague of mine often says that apologizing is a skill, and I think she’s right – people need to learn and practice how to do it well. Apologizing is not something that comes easily or naturally to us human creatures. Part of this is because it’s just plain difficult to acknowledge when we’ve misstepped or hurt… Read more →
Working with Strong Emotion: Django in the Workplace? – Part I
My massage therapist is a former professional hockey player. Well, almost professional. He played Junior hockey and had a try out with the Winnipeg Jets some 20 years ago. Recently, he told me some great Teemu Selanne stories from the training camp they attended together. This was before my guy got cut and Teemu went… Read more →