If you were to ask me, talking people through conflict and awkward conversations at work would be my idea of a terrifying job but this weeks guest does it daily and with true confidence. Melanie Whitney, blends science, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence to help turn conflict into connection. She explained to us how ego plays a part in our conversations and what ego really means (not that we’re just full of ourselves.) We talk about the magic of slowing down—even if it’s hard, even for five minutes—to actually give ourselves a fighting chance at responding rather than reacting in those pressure-cooker moments and she shared some tips for hard conversations when there’s a power dynamic difference or you’re a leader who’s made a mistake. You’ll also walk away with easy, science-backed tools for practicing compassion when tensions rise in a meeting and a super simple “to be” list technique you can put next to your never-ending to-dos—trust me, this one can change everything. Curious about how all this plays out in real situations and why even seasoned leaders freeze up or overshare? This conversation was full of really helpful insights and Melanie shared some incredible resources and tricks we can implement right away.