Dealing with Defensiveness

How leaders deal with defensiveness determines whether collaboration grows or stalls. Left unaddressed, defensiveness shuts down honest conversations and gets in the way of teams accomplishing what they’re up to. Yet the instinct most leaders reach for first...

The Armor You Don’t Know You’re Wearing

Most people think armor is obvious. Rigid. Aggressive. Easy to spot. But the most dangerous armor is invisible to the person wearing it. Defensiveness doesn’t always look like armor. Often, it looks like a very reasonable explanation for why your perspective is...

How to Support Someone Afraid to Speak Straight?

One question we often get asked is this: How do you support someone who’s afraid to speak straight to their boss? One of the most common and costly dynamics inside an organizations is this: People are afraid to speak straight to their leader because that leader holds...
Untangling the Intent & Impact Mismatch

Untangling the Intent & Impact Mismatch

Elevate Your Skill in Addressing “Intent and Impact Entanglements” Negative impacts occur regularly in conversations and can cause significant damage to trust, relationships, and the ability to work together. Growing your skill at noticing and untangling unintended...