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When you try to raise a concern about the way your team is functioning, you may find that the conversation suddenly turns into an attack on you. Here’s why “doing the right thing” can provoke a defensive response where people dismiss your message and focus instead on you, the messenger.
Chris, who worked on a service delivery team at a large NGO, was well liked for his optimism and great sense of humor. But Chris was finding it hard to keep things light when his team submitted its semiannual performance summary a month late for the sixth straight time. He pointed out that the late reports reflected poorly on the entire team. His colleagues responded by accusing him of losing his sense of humor. Dejected, and a worried they were right, Chris did not know how to proceed.
