Own Your Armor

Revolutionary Change for Workplace Culture

Michelle Brody, 2022

15 min read

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Defensive managers and employees fuel workplace dysfunction.

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Executive coach and clinical psychologist Michelle Brody addresses the thorniest part of workplace culture – conflicting team dynamics that hurt productivity — by using illustrations, self-assessment questionnaires and a psychological approach adapted from couples therapy. Efforts to change culture by pointing fingers at the leader or “difficult” members of the team tend to backfire because defensiveness and dysfunction spread when everyone “armors up” to protect themselves. Brody offers examples of how people armor up at work, saying that real change happens when team members examine their armor and take responsibility for its impact. She presents masterful tools for encouraging team members to shed their armor and build the trust required for a collaborative culture. This is an essential pre-read for HR professionals and coaches to use to kick off team development activities amid complicated dynamics.

Summary

When people feel threatened, they build up their protective armor, and that fuels a perpetual cycle of workplace dysfunction.

Typical symptoms of a dysfunctional workplace include a paucity of trust, accountability and honesty. People behave unprofessionally, blame one another, gossip and complain. Frustrations run high. Employees expect their managers to fix the problems. The managers urge their staff members to work on their collaboration and communication skills, but incremental improvements cannot repair a fractured culture. No single individual is to blame. Leaders and employees, knowingly or unknowingly, contribute to the dysfunction and thus share responsibility for harming the culture – and for making things better.

Communication breaks down when people feel threatened and strap on their armor as a defense mechanism. Everyone – particularly leaders and managers – needs to remove that protective gear, figure out what caused their defensiveness in the first place and own how their behavior affects their co-workers. “Owning your armor” will elevate your culture and enable your...

About the Author

Michelle Brody, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and executive coach. She is also the author of Stop the Fight: An Illustrated Guide for Couples.

Michelle Brody

Own Your Armor

Revolutionary Change for Workplace Culture

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Summary

When people feel threatened, they build up their protective armor, and that fuels a perpetual cycle of workplace dysfunction.

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