Side by Side
A lucky colleague attended a presentation given by Simon Sinek (“Start with Why”, Penguin Press, 2009) and shared a simple experience with us. She was invited to the stage with Mr. Sinek for a conversation. The first part of the conversation was face-to-face. The second part side-by-side. They then reflected on the power of physical proximity impacted their conversation.
Standing side-by-side with some shows that you are partnering with them rather than confronting them. He suggested that this is particularly powerful when there is an authoritarian relationship or difficult news needs to be shared.
So she tried it by having walking meetings and feedback from her and her reports are all positive. Give it a try.