Ep262: How to Work with Challenging Colleagues Without Losing Your Mind (or your job) | with Amy Gallo

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My guest today is Amy Gallo who is a workplace expert and cohost of Harvard Business Review's Women at Work podcast. Amy is also an author and speaker focusing on gender, interpersonal dynamics, difficult conversations, feedback, and effective communication. Today, we're delving into her book, Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People), because, like it or not, collaboration is an inevitable part of our professional lives.

In our conversation, Amy challenges the common belief that creative introverts, like myself, work best in isolation. She explains why collaboration is essential and highlights the importance of developing the skill to get along with others to achieve our best work. We explore the various types of colleagues we may encounter, including the difficult ones, and discuss how to transform these challenging relationships into productive and collaborative partnerships.

Amy's insights are invaluable, regardless of your industry or whether you work independently. Given that interaction with others is a certainty, it makes more sense to turn these into positive, productive connections.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• How organizational strategies can collapse (even good ones) if people aren't getting along
• Why workplace relationships are more important than hard skills
• How creative introverts who think they work best alone are actually hindering their creativity
• KEY TAKEAWAY: The best idea didn't start as the best idea but as an idea that had some potential
• The importance of disagreements and creative friction to bring about the best possible product
• KEY TAKEAWAY: Relationships lead to better creativity
• The first question you ask when you're overwhelmed and how it can reduce your stress
• Why people don't like to work with people
• KEY TAKEAWAY: Even with difficult relationships, you can gain something
• Why you need to learn how to work with difficult people
• Career advice: Follow the relationships
• Why we need 'work friends' aside from friends outside work
• What are the 8 archetypes of difficult people and how to deal with them
• KEY TAKEAWAY: The traits that bother you most often are the ones that are just like you
• How to have an environment of creative collaboration
• How to frame disagreements so you're all on the same side instead of competing with each other
• The 'fluffy little squirrel' strategy and how it can dampen aggressiveness in disagreements
• Gender differences and conflict: how to deal with biases
• How to deal with conflict brought about by generational gaps
• The most important metaskill to learn: strategic empathy
• What is the 9th archetype of difficult people and how to deal with them
• How to know if it's time to quit

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Ep260: How to Build Collaborative Cultures & Fix Toxic Creative Environments | with Chris Deaver

Ep218: How to Know (Without a Doubt) If It’s Time to Quit | with Annie Duke

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Episode Transcript

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Guest Bio:

[caption id="attachment_21278" align="alignleft" width="400"] Amy Gallo[/caption]

Amy Gallo is a workplace expert who writes and speaks about gender, interpersonal dynamics, difficult conversations, feedback, and effective communication. She is the author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, as well as hundreds of articles for Harvard Business Review. For the past three years, Amy has co-hosted HBR’s popular Women at Work podcast, which examines the struggles and successes of women in the workplace. She is frequently sought out by media outlets for her perspective on workplace dynamics, conflict, and difficult conversations. Her advice has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Marketplace, and The Austin American-Statesman, as well as on WNYC, the BBC, and ABC (Australian Broadcasting

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).