Their Behavior Doesn't Say Something About You

"My manager has been abrupt & almost mean in his emails. I'm starting to second guess myself," said Blake (a highly competent VP in a Fortune 100 company.)

"When did it start? & How often does he do this?" I asked.

Blake realized that her boss began getting combative & micromanaging when the big re-org was being announced from the recent merger.

I helped her recognize that he's likely stressed himself and that his behavior wasn't saying something about her. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢.

Instead of questioning herself, she committed to asking him supportive questions:

- How are 𝘆𝗼𝘂 doing in all of this?

- Where are you getting pressure from 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 manager?

Blake brought herself back into her Performance Zone--centered & confident while also extending support to her manager.

That's powerful partnering!