Why Some People Are Easy to Work With, And Others Drain Your Energy
Best of Motivation | Clarity Over Noise
Have you ever worked with someone and thought, why is this person so difficult to communicate with? The honest answer is usually that they aren't. They're difficult to you — and someone two desks over finds them completely straightforward.
Most conflict at work isn't disagreement. It's mistranslation. The two-line message that reads as annoyed. The full backstory that loses them by sentence three. The yes you get in the meeting that never actually moves. And the feedback given with no run-up that quietly costs you someone three months later.
Underneath all of it sit two questions — do you move fast or slow, and do you lead with the task or the people — and the four patterns they produce. This episode covers what those patterns are, why the same sentence lands four different ways, and a simple way to adjust before your next difficult conversation.
The part this episode can't give you
Every adjustment you make starts from where you're already standing. And you're the one person in the room you've never observed from the outside. Most people are two colours with one in front, which is exactly why guessing your own is harder than it sounds — and why your blind spot is, by definition, the thing you can't self-report.
Take the free Colour Personality Quiz — twelve questions, about three minutes. It names your colour, how you communicate, and the blind spot you can't see from the inside.
Related reading
• What do personality colors mean?
• How to communicate with each personality colour
Support the show
If this episode helped you think more clearly, try the free Colour Personality Quiz at bestofmotivation.com/personality-color-quiz — it takes 2 minutes and shows you how you lead, decide, and communicate.