When a Relationship with a Colleague Goes Sour

Women at Work

Say someone on your team who had previously been friendly turns on you and is now making your life miserable and collaboration nearly impossible. Maybe they won’t respond to your emails or even look you in the eye?

This is the distressing situation that “Cindy,” a listener of Conferences for Women’s Women Amplified podcast, found herself in. Host Celeste Headlee, invited Amy Gallo on to help give Cindy advice as part of the show’s series “That’s a Good Question.” Cindy talks to Celeste and Amy about how she doesn’t even know what’s causing the tension. She can’t get answers from her colleague and doesn’t know how to continue working with someone who’s being so difficult.

The approaches that come out of the conversation are ones that anyone facing tension in a work relationship can use to find a way forward.

Resources:

• Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People), by Amy Gallo
• HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, by Amy Gallo
• “Navigating Conflict,” by Women at Work
• “How to Mend a Work Relationship,” by Brianna Barker Caza et al.
• “How to Deal with a Mean Colleague,” by Amy Gallo
• “How to Collaborate with People You Don’t Like,” by Mark Nevins

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