Dealing with a difficult coworker
Notice the pattern first. It is almost never as personal as it feels in the moment.
Eric Berne's answer to a hooked, hostile exchange is not a script for winning it. It is noticing the pattern early enough to choose a different response.
The recurring game called Now I've Got You feeds specifically on unclear expectations, so the preventive move is setting expectations clearly, in writing, in advance. If you're already caught in one, the recovery move is staying calm and redirecting to the shared goal.
It is a pattern, not a verdict on you or on them. Everyone is running some subconscious stuff nobody can fully see, including you.
What you get
- Prompts for naming the recurring pattern with a specific coworker and what was actually left unclear
- A field for writing your redirect to the shared goal before you need it
- The three capacities of autonomy that a game-free response actually runs on
Where should we send it?
One email with the worksheet. You can unsubscribe from anything else in one click.
On its way
Check your inbox. If it has not landed in a minute or two, look in promotions or spam, and add sam@startuppatterns.com to your contacts so the rest arrive.
Adapted from the Mindfulness chapter of The Mindful Product Company by Sam McAfee.