Separate People From the Problem Under Heat
Use person-problem separation to lower defensiveness and reopen joint problem solving.
Do not remove emotion from conflict. Remove identity threat from the first sentence. Separating people from the problem protects the relationship and improves analysis. It lets you say the real thing without making the other person defend their worth, competence, or intent. Convert labels into observations 'You are careless' becomes 'The launch checklist changed after approval.' 'You are blocking' becomes 'The approval path is not clear to the team.' Observations give both parties something to inspect. Convert blame into impact Impact language explains why the issue matters now. 'When the date changes after the client call, Customer Success loses credibility.'…
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