Team lead blames dev for being late; icy silence follows. Or try PEP: observe facts, guess feelings, name needs, make requests. Lizard brains chill, trust respawns.
The story
When coworker flubs land with a thud,
morale’s bandwidth hits empty quick.
Resentment brews a bitter mess,
PEP flips it smooth and slick.
Picture your team lead chewing out a dev: “You’re *always* late, screwing us over!” Blame bombs drop. Defenses spike. Meeting adjourns in icy silence.
What if instead…? Observe: “You turned in the report Tuesday, after I expected Monday.” Guess feeling: “Frustrated maybe, valuing clear timelines?” Needs vibe: “Needing respect for your bandwidth?” Request: “Would you ping me Fridays on progress?”
Boom. Lizard brains chill. Trust respawns. No demands, just connection guesses.
After 20 years geeking on this, plus EmpathyBot.net as my AI empathy playground, I packed Chapter 3 of *A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind* on Amazon with street-ready PEP for leaders. Exercises galore, minimal jargon. If you want to level up your workplace squad, it’s there.
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