Home Podcasts Crucial Skills | Management & Accountability

Crucial Skills | Management & Accountability

Crucial Learning 12 Episodes Oct 13, 2026

The Crucial Skills Podcast, by Crucial Learning, applies behavioral science to real-life workplace and personal challenges. Each episode explores skills like turning disagreement into dialogue, holding others accountable, building better habits, and leading change. Grounded in decades of research, the podcast offers practical insights and relatable stories to improve communication, management, and accountability. It aims to help listeners achieve better results at work and at home.

Episodes

When Your Teenager Stops Listening | How to Rebuild Trust and Influence Oct 13, 2026 461 Few situations test our communication skills like a teenager who stops listening and starts pulling away.Joseph Grenny responds to a concerned parent whose daughter has been breaking rules and shutting down attempts at conversation. The parent wants to guide her toward better choices while still being someone she feels safe talking to.Joseph explains why influence starts with letting go of control

From Overwhelmed to Focused | How to Clear Your Mind and Get More Done Oct 6, 2026 2905 What if having too much to do isn't actually the reason you feel overwhelmed?Justin Hale, author and consultant at Crucial Learning, sits down with productivity expert and Getting Things Done author David Allen to explore how to stay focused and productive without burning out. They explain what happens when we use our brains to hold and manage unfinished commitments, and why getting those commitme

Debunking Psychological Safety: The Difference Between Discomfort and Danger Sep 29, 2026 444 Have you ever had a boss who talks about psychological safety but still makes you feel tense when you’re around them?Justin Hale, co-author of Crucial Accountability and keynote speaker at Crucial Learning, explains what psychological safety really means, and what it doesn’t. Drawing on foundational research from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, Justin explores why psychological sa

The Cost of Avoiding Difficult Conversations | Why Speaking Up at Work Matters Sep 22, 2026 1662 Avoiding a Crucial Conversation can come with both a price and a cost. But what’s the difference between the two?Scott Robley, VP of Learning Solutions at Crucial Learning, walks through research that shows forty-three percent of respondents estimate they waste two weeks or more ruminating about an unresolved problem at work. And an astounding one in three employees estimate their inability to spe

How to Confront a Workplace Bully | 8 Tips to Address Bad Behavior Sep 15, 2026 500 Why do we put up with bullies at work? And how do we stop letting it happen?Brittney Maxfield, Sr. Director of Growth Marketing at Crucial Learning, breaks down a listener question about workplace bullying and why so many people choose to cope rather than confront. She explores the emotional and business costs of workplace bullying, why so many people choose to cope rather than confront, and how s

Why Motivation Isn’t Enough | The Six Sources That Drive Behavior Change Sep 8, 2026 2243 People may not resist change as much as they resist being changed—or failing at it.Scott Robley, speaker, coach, and master trainer at Crucial Learning, argues that people don't actually resist change. At least not the way we think. He claims that people resist being changed, and they resist failing at it. Scott walks through three main reasons why change efforts tend to stall, and explains why le

Stop Venting, Start Talking | How to Handle Workplace Conflict Directly Sep 1, 2026 544 Have you ever had someone stop by your desk just to vent about work, leaving you to deal with all their baggage?Justin Hale, co-author of Crucial Accountability, unpacks what he calls the "drive-by" conversation: a venting session that feels productive in the moment but leaves the real problem unsolved. The problem is that venting can reinforce one-sided stories, damage workplace relationships, an

How to Say No: GTD Skills for Managing Work and Life Aug 25, 2026 3094 Most of us are carrying a lot more tasks than we realize. And it's slowly ruining our focus. Justin Hale, co-author of Crucial Accountability, is joined by David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and founder of the David Allen Company, to discuss the overcommitment problem we face today. Justin and David discuss why so many of us tend to take on more than we can handle, and what it takes to say

How to Negotiate Salary After a Job Offer | Advice from Joseph Grenny Aug 18, 2026 424 You got the job offer! But the salary doesn't match the role, the cost of living in your city, or your expectations. What do you say?Joseph Grenny, a co-author of Crucial Conversations, reviews a real listener letter from someone caught in exactly this situation. He talks about the frustration and disappointment that come with this type of interaction, and exactly what you should do to figure it o

Victim or Villain? How to Stop Your Thoughts from Sabotaging Your Crucial Conversations Aug 11, 2026 2681 Imagine your manager sends a message that says, "We need to talk." What story does your brain instantly write? Scott Robley dives into what may be one of the most personally transformational principles in Crucial Conversations: Master My Stories. Scott shares that most Crucial Conversations go sideways because of the stories we tell ourselves before we even speak with someone else. Drawing on rese

What to Do When Your Boss Is a Bully Aug 4, 2026 582 What do you do when your boss is a bully?Emily Gregory, a co-author of Crucial Conversations and a Crucial Learning speaker and consultant, responds to a reader who has this very problem. Emily takes this scenario and uses it to highlight the reality of this situation in many workplaces, and what you can do to navigate workplace bullying.She breaks down the difference between observation and judgm

Healthy Boundaries, Stronger Relationships | How to Speak Up Without Burning Bridges Jul 28, 2026 2884 We've all experienced people crossing our boundaries, both in our professional and personal lives. How do we set and maintain those boundaries without settling?Joseph Grenny, coauthor of Crucial Conversations, makes the case that boundaries aren't just a nicety. They're actually one of the most overlooked drivers of engagement, trust, and performance in an organization. Joseph argues that the lag

Leadership Confessions: Accountability Skills to Set New Leaders Up for Success Jul 21, 2026 1945 Brittney Maxfield sits down with Justin Hale, co-author of the newly released third edition of Crucial Accountability, to discuss why so many new managers struggle in their leadership roles. Justin explains why more than a third of managers feel they were promoted for the wrong reasons, and dives into three skills new leaders need in order to succeed. Justin walks through the tools at the heart of

Turn Conflict into Connection | The Relationship Skills Every Team Needs Jul 14, 2026 2068 Relationships are the currency of high-performing teams, families, and communities. But, today, we're struggling more than ever to build and sustain them. Authors Justin Hale and Emily Gregory dig into why so many of our everyday interactions tend to create friction. They talk about what the research reveals about the motives driving how we connect, collide, and recover with the people we work and

How to Deal with a Passive-Aggressive Boss Jul 7, 2026 500 When a manager communicates vaguely and then gets upset when their expectations aren’t met, the workplace can quickly become a source of frustration.Crucial Conversations co-author Emily Gregory responds to a letter from a team dealing with exactly this problem. This situation has left the employees feeling criticized, confused, and stuck. Emily unpacks why situations like this feel so demoralizin

Why AI Implementations Fail | The Behavioral Fix Most Leaders Miss Jun 30, 2026 3017 What happens when organizations invest heavily in AI tools only to watch them underperform, or fail, altogether? Joseph Grenny is joined by JaeLynn Williams, a leader with firsthand experience implementing AI across healthcare, aviation, and technology companies. They dive into a question that is haunting many executives: why aren’t AI initiatives delivering the results they promised? The answer l

A Manager's Guide to Delivering Tough Performance Feedback Jun 23, 2026 509 What do you do with an employee who believes they're excelling, but the data tells a different story? Justin Hale, coauthor of Crucial Accountability, tackles this problem head-on, showing how to initiate these uncomfortable conversations. While it is hard, putting them off rarely makes the gap close on its own. And mishandling them can damage trust and stall progress for good.Justin breaks down f

Confessions of a New Manager: How to Set Your New Leaders Up for Success Jun 16, 2026 1785 Stepping into a management role for the first time is harder than most new bosses let on, and harder than most employees realize. Joseph Grenny shares findings from a study conducted with new managers, revealing four surprising "confessions" about how new leaders see themselves and how their teams actually experience them. The data paints a picture of what organizations are getting wrong about pre

How to Handle Criticism Without Getting Defensive | Three Practical Ways to Turn Feedback Into Growth Jun 9, 2026 436 Have you ever heard the phrase "constructive criticism" and immediately felt your guard go up? You're not alone. For many people, feedback feels personal, uncomfortable, or even discouraging, especially when it's delivered imperfectly. But what if the key to growth isn't changing how feedback is given, but changing how we receive it?Emily Gregory explores why so many people struggle with criticism

Feedsmacked: Crucial Skills to Receive Tough Feedback Jun 2, 2026 2835 Most of us have spent years learning how to give feedback well, but what about when you're on the receiving end of something unexpected or blunt? Joseph Grenny looks back on 35 years of his own research to explore this exact problem: how we receive feedback, and why our emotional response may have less to do with the delivery than we think.Drawing on a study of 445 “feedsmack” episodes, Joseph sha

Working with Difficult People | How to Increase Understanding with Brittney Maxfield May 26, 2026 459 We've all had that person at work whose style rubs you the wrong way. It's easy to write them off as difficult. But what if the story you're telling yourself about them isn't the full picture?Brittney Maxfield introduces a powerful framework called the Strength Deployment Inventory® (SDI ®) that reframes the way we see frustrating behavior at work. The SDI shapes these behaviors not as character f

The Accountability Difference | Building Teams That Make and Keep Commitments with Justin Hale May 19, 2026 1987 Accountability is one of the most talked-about topics in organizational culture, yet one of the least understood. We’re here to fix that.Justin Hale, coauthor of Crucial Accountability, makes the case that accountability isn't just a personality trait or a matter of willpower. It's a skill set that can be taught, practiced, and embedded into any team. Justin introduces the concept of 200% accounta

Why We Fear Feedback | 3 Steps to Deliver Feedback Well with Justin Hale May 12, 2026 458 Have you ever avoided giving feedback because you didn’t want to create tension, damage a relationship, or say the wrong thing?Justin Hale breaks down why feedback conversations often go wrong and shares a practical framework for making them more productive, respectful, and effective. Rather than focusing on scripted responses or perfect wording, Justin shares practical principles that help people

How to Fix Your Accountability Problem | Three Crucial Conversations for Leaders with Joseph Grenny May 5, 2026 2375 In recent years, "quiet quitting" has made headlines as employees grow increasingly burned out and disengaged. But while it feels like a recent phenomenon, is it actually new?Joseph Grenny, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of Crucial Learning, explains why quiet quitting is really a rebranding of a decades-old leadership challenge: a lack of discretionary effort. Or, discretionary

How to Leave a Bad Boss on Good Terms with Emily Gregory Apr 28, 2026 446 Have you ever had a boss you just didn’t like? Did it ever make you want to leave? You’re not alone—and there’s a better way to handle it.Emily Gregory breaks down what it’s like navigating a difficult boss. Rather than focusing on the frustrations that come with poor leadership, Emily reframes the conversation around self-awareness, perspective, and professionalism. She offers a practical approac

The Manager’s Dilemma | Balancing Empathy and Accountability with Emily Gregory Apr 21, 2026 3042 What makes a good leader? How do you balance caring about your people with holding high standards? Hosts Brittney and Justin step aside to feature Emily Gregory, co-author of Crucial Conversations and a Crucial Learning Master Trainer, as she breaks down what she calls “the manager’s dilemma.” It highlights a common challenge: how leaders can care about their people while still holding them to hig

Psychological Safety for Leaders | Creating Healthy Conversations in the Workplace Apr 14, 2026 686 You know psychological safety matters. But here's the part most people miss: your leaders need it too—and when they don't have it, it changes everything about how they show up in the room.Crucial Conversations coauthor Joseph Grenny brings to light the topic of creating psychological safety for leaders in conversation. Just like any other employee, people in leadership positions are prone to feeli

Start With Heart: The First Step to Effective Communication | Shift Your Intentions to Improve Every Conversation Apr 7, 2026 2097 There is one fundamental skill that determines whether a conversation leads to conflict or connection—and most people overlook it. Scott Robley explains why the most important part of any high-stakes conversation isn’t what you say, but the intent behind it. When emotions run high and opinions differ, your motives shape everything from trust to outcomes.Drawing on insights from the Crucial Convers

Welcome to the Crucial Skills Podcast | Building Skills That Will Transform Your Conversations Apr 7, 2026 1098 Welcome to the Crucial Skills podcast!Hosts Brittney Maxfield and Justin Hale share the mission, philosophy, and practical impact behind Crucial Learning’s work. The focus is on a small set of high-leverage communication behaviors—the ones that show up in high-stakes conversations and consistently determine whether things go well or sideways. Brittney and Justin emphasize that lasting change comes

Welcome to the Crucial Skills Podcast Apr 7, 2026 104 The Crucial Skills Podcast is brought to you by the authors and experts at Crucial Learning, home of Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue and Crucial Conversations for Accountability training.

Crucial Skills | Management & Accountability

Episodes

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