How to Navigate Professional Relationships in the Tech Industry

Charles Babbage's inability to collaborate delayed the computer revolution by a century. Learn the soft skills he lacked and debug your professional relationships.

How to Navigate Professional Relationships in the Tech Industry
#1about 3 minutes

The hardest part of working in tech is other people

Interpersonal challenges like code reviews and office politics are often more difficult to navigate than technical problems.

#2about 5 minutes

Depersonalize conflict using the 50/50 relationship rule

Avoid taking things personally by recognizing that you are only responsible for your half of any interaction or outcome.

#3about 5 minutes

How to apologize effectively using a structured model

A good apology focuses on objective impact, root cause, and future prevention, similar to Amazon's correction of errors process.

#4about 5 minutes

Navigate power dynamics with the big dog, little dog analogy

Recognize your relative power in any situation to understand others' behaviors and adjust your own approach accordingly.

#5about 8 minutes

Set boundaries by treating your lifespan as a currency

Reframe time as your finite "lifespan" to better protect it, and use clear protocols for sharing personal information at work.

#6about 5 minutes

How to manage your emotions and handle dysregulation

Learn to identify emotional triggers and create an emergency procedure to manage overwhelming feelings for yourself and others.

#7about 4 minutes

Why embracing rupture and repair is healthy for relationships

Disagreements are inevitable, and learning to repair the resulting damage to trust is a crucial skill for managers and peers.

#8about 1 minute

Putting your human debugging toolkit into practice

A final review of the key interpersonal skills to help you be kinder to yourself and others while navigating the workplace.

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Rapid-fire thoughts on the future of work
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Breaking down silos between HR, tech, and business
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Balancing business, technology, and people for holistic success
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