Workplace grace
Oddball Leaders uphold the dignity of ALL people
“Does it ever get easier to have difficult conversations with your staff?”
One of my teammates lobbed this question at me recently. We’d just finished talking about trusting the process — how we handle conflict, miscommunication, and general human messiness at work.
And for some reason, the question hit me sideways. Maybe because, yes. Those conversations have gotten easier for me over the years. And I’m just now admitting it to myself.
(Sometimes I still feel like a kid cosplaying as a boss, so any moment of clarity is gratefully received. 😆😆😆)
But here’s what I’ve learned: the only way difficult conversations become even remotely manageable is if you anchor them in dignity. Yours. Theirs. Everyone’s.
Everything else is just logistics.
PRAISING IN PUBLIC
Let’s start easy: affirmation. Generosity. Vocal gratitude.
An Oddball Leader should be doling out praise ALL. THE. TIME. You hype your people openly and often — not because it’s trendy, but because it’s true. When someone on your team does good work, name it in full surround sound.
Unless a teammate prefers low-key acknowledgment (and yes, Oddball Leaders actually ask), be indiscriminate with your appreciation. Point out the wins they can’t yet see in themselves. Make noticing a sport.
For those who hate the spotlight? Find the quieter channels where gratitude still lands. Remember, Oddball Leadership requires literacy in how different humans like to be seen.
CORRECTING IN PRIVATE
People screw up.
Not occasionally.
Not surprisingly.
Constantly.
Including you.
And here’s the cardinal rule: you never — ever — torch someone publicly for it. Public reprimands aren’t “teachable moments” — they’re tiny catastrophes. They fracture psychological safety, corrode trust, and saddle people with shame that usually outlives the mistake.
Correction belongs behind a closed door where dignity can breathe.
And doing that comes with perks:
It forces you to cool off, reflect, and gain perspective.
It salvages dignity instead of shattering it.
It creates a space for honest, less-defensive conversation.
It invites your team member to co-own the solution instead of cowering from you.
Honorable mention: it prevents you from looking like a feral idiot. 👹👹👹
(An outcome we should all strive for, mostly.)
ON KEEPING COOL
Here’s a spicy leadership take: your initial reaction is almost always the wrong one.
A teammate’s slip-up might be fueled by any number of things: pressure, fear, grief, burnout, hormones, a busted laptop, a dentist appointment gone wrong — and, plot twist, your leadership might be part of the issue too.
So you pause. You reflect. You step into the conversation with grace instead of accusation. Not because you’re soft, but because you’re smart. Cooling off isn’t weakness; it’s craft.
Healthy conflict handled with humanity strengthens your team in ways urgency never will.
WHY IT MATTERS
You, dear leader, are a fragile sack of feelings and fallibility. So is every person you manage.
You probably know what it’s like to get publicly dressed down.
I do, personally.
And it sucks.
Because you remember that shame, carry it with you, for years.
No one on your team should have to nurse those same scars — especially when most people already feel bad enough from simply being wrong.
Grace doesn’t erase accountability.
Grace just removes humiliation from the equation.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (MOSTLY)
When you practice leading through conflict with grace long enough, the scary conversations stop being scary. They become part of the rhythm of running a living, breathing team — the cost of admission for building something real with other humans.
WHAT THE LINKEDIN BROFLUENCERS WON’T ADMIT
Most of your job as a manager is cleaning up human messes without making bigger messes.
And leading with grace is the best way to do that job — and yes, leading with grace is a strategic choice, not a soft-hearted accident.
It’s refusing to scorch the earth to prove a point.
It’s believing correction doesn’t require humiliation.
It’s betting that people rise higher when you don’t push their faces into the dirt.
And honestly? It’s what separates leaders from bosses:
Bosses rule with authority.
Leaders protect dignity.
Because grace isn’t weakness; it’s discipline.
It’s power used carefully.
And it’s the Oddball Way.
