Tag: workplace relationships

Are You Protecting the Wrong People at Work?

In this My Crazy Office episode, Kathi and Katherine pose a question: Are you protecting the wrong person at work? They start with a question from a manager who’s been protecting a skilled-but-difficult employee. This person’s behavior offends other employees so much that HR recently intervened, insisting the manager confront the employee. Kathi and Katherine discuss why it can be tempting to protect certain people at work and how to resist doing it. When is being protective helpful to an employee and when is just enabling poor behavior? Listen here.

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Want To Get Promoted? Get Better at Managing Up & Managing Down

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss how to get promoted by being better at managing up and managing down.They start with a question from someone who wants to move to a higher-level position but has been told that they need to be less enabling of staff and more visible to upper management. In other words, this person’s promotion is tied to more managing up and less micro-managing down.

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Networking for People Who Avoid Networking

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a crucial skill for anyone who wants to move their career forward: Networking. They start with a question from someone who knows that networking would help them find a new job but avoids doing it. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage your own resistance to networking and take steps to build your network anyway. Hate networking? Listen here.

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Do You Have To Fire a Friend?

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore a sensitive topic: How do you fire someone who is a friend? They start with a question from someone who finds themselves in the awkward position of having to fire a good friend due to that person’s poor performance. Kathi and Katherine discuss the challenges of this kind of situation and how to prepare for the fallout.

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How to Handle Conflict Between Employees

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a tough topic for many managers: How to handle conflict between employees at work. They start with a question from a manager who has two very valuable employees who are constantly arguing with each other. Kathi and Katherine explore how to manage your staff when they can not get along.

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Are You Smarter Than Your Boss?

It can be challenging to work for someone who seems less intelligent than you but has more power. On today’s My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine ask a provocative question: Are you smarter than your boss? If so, what can you do about it?
They start with a question from someone whose boss is unable to make decisions, has a very low E.Q., takes credit for other people’s work, and constantly says things that his staff have to apologize for. K & K discuss how to manage this kind of professionally frustrating and politically delicate situation.

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Don’t Like Your New Boss?

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a common workplace dilemma: What happens if you don’t like your new boss? They start with a question from someone whose former boss retired, and the new boss is a completely different kind of manager. We’ll consider what you can do when management changes in a way that you don’t like.

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Afraid To Give Negative Feedback?

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a management challenge that many people face: Being afraid to give negative feedback. They start with a question from someone who oversees three managers but is afraid to give any of them important feedback concerning their weak areas. Kathi and Katherine talk about how to overcome whatever fears prevent you from performing this essential management task.

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