Bridging the Divide: Building Win-Win Solutions in Tough Times

Jane, the Executive Director of a national pediatric cancer research nonprofit, had been losing sleep for weeks over looming funding cuts. She clung to hope that the rumors were wrong and that her team could continue its groundbreaking work, saving thousands of lives. Then, in the middle of a national clinical trial, the unthinkable happened. […]

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Tips for Naming the Elephant in the Room, Safely

“Whoa! What the %^&$ is happening here? Let’s knock it off right now!” Clearly, this is not the best way to call a time out when a meeting spirals out of control, especially when higher-ups are around the table. But remaining silent won’t stop a dysfunctional meeting in its tracks, either. Whether you’re the meeting

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Facilitating Safe Conversations When Viewpoints Collide

We all know leaders who run away when it comes to handling conflicting viewpoints across their teams. When the stakes are high and the conflict is intense, they can’t get away fast enough. When there’s no escaping, they attempt to circumvent needed discussions with platitudes like these: Can’t we just agree to disagree? (Um, no.

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Costly Missteps that Destroy Trust During Times of Change

If senior leaders decide that a change must be made, how important is it, really, that employees buy into it? If it’s mandatory, why pretend that employees have a say in it? If the change is truly urgent, why slow things down to gain consensus? If it’s a done deal, why bother offering a rationale? Leading successful change

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Confronting Dysfunctional Behavior Without Completely Losing It

  We were halfway through a two-day project kick-off meeting for a global IT team about to roll out a new mail and messaging system for the company’s 100K+ employees around the world. The execution had to be flawless. The pressure on this team was intense. Huddled around the conference room table were a dozen

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Stop Letting Bad Behavior Derail Your Next Meeting

“Our meetings have gone off the rails. No one seems to know how to rein in the loudmouths or to get the quiet people talking. Pretty much everyone leaves our meetings feeling frustrated, mad and really deflated. We need help!” If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. I get emails and posts like this almost

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Confronting Conflict with Courage in Remote Teams

“Fine! Have it your way. Again. You always do.” “Hey, you had a chance to speak up, and you still haven’t told us why you oppose this proposal. We can’t read your mind.” “Has it occurred to you that I’m not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea? Maybe I’m the only one who’s willing to speak out.”

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Bracing for Giving (and Getting) Difficult Feedback When You Can’t See Eye to Eye

If I ask you whether my presentation that I’ve labored over for weeks was any good, your slight nod after a long hesitation tells me that I pretty much bombed, despite your verbal assurance that “it was fine, really.” I really can’t tell if you are trying to spare my feelings or if you have

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Stop Agonizing Over Tough Decisions to Save Your Sanity (and Maybe Even Your Pup!)

I came this close (holding thumb and index finger ¼” apart) to returning our pup, Honey, just three days after we adopted her from a shelter a year ago today. (And believe me, I am no novice when it comes to raising dogs from puppyhood. Honey is my fourth.) So why did I feel that adopting this little

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Speaking up against microaggressions: Why it’s worth the risk

Be honest. Would you speak up in any of these situations? Your manager tells you that the 45-year-old employee you recommended for the next leadership development cohort isn’t the right fit because they’re looking for “a different demographic.” The only person of color on your team is frequently praised as being “really articulate,” a phrase rarely, if ever,

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Tips for creating win-win solutions virtually – Resolving conflicts when you can’t see eye to eye

Laura hasn’t gotten much sleep ever since she announced that all employees returning to the office next month must show proof of vaccination. A CEO of a mid-sized environmental engineering services firm, Laura had spent days vetting this decision with her corporate counsel, ensuring that such a mandate was legal. (It is, according to the

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8 Steps for Facilitating Constructive Conflict, Virtually

Your team is under pressure to make a decision that will make or break your big project. You are shocked when all of your colleagues agree to what you believe will be a disastrous decision. When you regain your powers of speech, everyone is waiting for you to weigh in. (Thankfully, no one can read

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How to Prevent ‘Unfair’ Decisions from Tearing Teams Apart

Nearly everyone in town breathed a sigh of relief when our selectmen recently voted to cut off conversations with the big gaming company that had its eye on building a casino here. Those of us who had helped to create a Facebook page and online petition to mobilize the opposition felt especially pleased with the

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To speed decision-making, get rid of the noise

To be, or not to be? Not all decisions are as profound as Hamlet’s, but some team decisions can be real game-changers. Making tough decisions can stress out members of any team, but when you’re working as a geographically-dispersed team, the decision-making process can be especially draining. Why?  Simply put, the decision-making process for virtual

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6 Essential Guidelines for Making Better Decisions, Virtually

Let’s face it. We’ve all made some pretty poor decisions. Sometimes it’s because we feel we have to keep moving, in any direction. Other times we just don’t want to have to think too hard, so we make the choice that requires the least scrutiny. When we make a bad decision that has fairly minor

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