Category Archive

Someone did something wrong. Something happened, outside of your control but within theirs, that impacted you in a hurtful, time-consuming, or perhaps even expensive way. You have every right to be angry. Pissed off. Annoyed. Frustrated. Forget this empathy horsepucky – you’re mad, and you’re going to tell them all about it. Hold on a minute! There’s a big misconception …

A reader sent me this question: How do you empathize with someone who is very wrong? My reader had been in a situation where her personal space was invaded – painfully. We’ve probably all experienced something like this: we’re standing innocently on line at the supermarket and the person behind us shoves their shopping cart into us. More unusually, not …

“This is a safe space.” We hear that a lot in coaching, counseling, consulting, and even in business meetings. Groups on Facebook and on LinkedIn are touted as “safe space” where we can feel comfortable in the company of like-minded people: no one will push our buttons. Educational institutions are under pressure to create “safe space” where students and teachers …

You’ve faced an unhappy fact: your team needs help. The conflict you face isn’t resolving itself, and each attempt at discussion just escalates the issue. The situation is getting increasingly tense, with finger-pointing accusations and name-calling becoming more and more frequent. The only thing you seem to agree on is that something  needs to be done. Perhaps it’s time to hire a mediator. But how …