Think It Through

Regardless of the factors that conspire to make an interaction difficult, it is possible to develop strategies and skills that will help. You may think that the problem originates with the other person, but successfully resolving it starts with you. You need to think about your situation differently.

In this chapter we’ll focus on the introspective work you should do before involving the other person. This means honestly assessing whether the situation will benefit from a conversation and, if you determine it will, planning what steps you’ll take to make the discussion productive.

Should you act?

Most of us would rather ignore a problem than confront it. Why risk a blowup or damage to the relationship—or to your reputation? Of ...

Get The HBR Essential 20-Minute Manager Collection (5 Books) (HBR 20-Minute Manager Series) now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.