Confrontation Without Tears
People in business have trouble with confrontation because they confront out of emotion. A situation upsets them and they instinctively feel the need to lash out. They let their emotions take over when their mind should be in control. As a result, their confrontations tend to fail: while they’re busy letting off steam, they ignore confrontation’s true purpose, namely to prevent the distressing situation from happening again.
Don’t cry and most of all don’t go toe-to-toe with the boss.
Confrontations with the boss are rarely decided by who’s right and who’s wrong. The determining factor usually is who brings the most chips to the table. And the boss, by definition, holds one chip the subordinate doesn’t: the one that says you’re fired.
