Civility Partners, Inc

09/04/2026

And yes, I love digging into those bad workplace habits everyone has quietly accepted as “just how things are around here.”

Because a healthy workplace isn’t built with pizza parties, values posters, and an annual engagement survey.

It’s built by addressing the behaviors that are making work harder than it needs to be.

Unfortunately for toxic workplace habits, I really do love this stuff.

And if you want your employees to love a healthier workplace too, join me for my upcoming non-boring, interactive harassment prevention training.

No two hours of clicking “next.” No legal jargon coma. No checking the compliance box and pretending culture changed.

We’ll talk about what problematic behavior actually looks like, how to speak up, how to set boundaries, and how every employee contributes to the culture, for better or worse.

Compliance is required. A healthier culture is the goal.

https://civilitypartners.com/sis-california-compliant-harassment-prevention-training/

09/03/2026

One conversation won't change a toxic manager. Stop expecting it to.

I see this happen all the time. Someone finally works up the courage to address disrespectful behavior. They rehearse what they're going to say, lose sleep over it, and walk into the conversation hoping this will be the turning point.

Then one of two things happens.

The manager apologizes just enough to end the conversation, but nothing actually changes. Or they become defensive, insist people are "too sensitive," and leave the employee questioning themselves.

Here's the mistake: treating the conversation as the intervention. It isn't.

Real behavior change doesn't happen because someone was told they crossed a line. It happens when expectations are reinforced, boundaries are consistently maintained, and accountability follows every time the behavior resurfaces.

This is what I help organizations do. We stop relying on uncomfortable conversations to solve systemic problems and instead build the leadership accountability, coaching, and reinforcement that create lasting behavior change. Because toxic behavior isn't interrupted by awareness alone. It's interrupted by consequences, consistency, and courage. Send me a DM!

09/02/2026

How to Deal With an Angry Boss in 4 Steps

Meta descriptionLearn how to deal with an angry boss, respond professionally, document harmful patterns, and recognize when leadership behavior needs organizational action.

09/01/2026

...and so much more. Kinda chic to contribute to a healthy workplace.

Join me for my upcoming non-boring, interactive harassment prevention training.

Your employees won’t just sit through another training about what the law says. They’ll walk away knowing what harassment looks like in real life, how to prevent it, and what they can personally do to contribute to a more respectful workplace.

Because checking the compliance box? Necessary.

Actually changing behavior? Very chic.

https://civilitypartners.com/sis-california-compliant-harassment-prevention-training/

08/31/2026

Most people think workplace bullying is easy to spot. It isn't.

The behaviors that do the most damage are often subtle, repeated, and dismissed as "just how they are."

In this video, I break down the three categories that nearly every workplace bullying behavior falls into and why recognizing them is the first step toward creating a healthier culture.

Which of these three do you see most often? Join my Office Hours and let's dicuss. https://civilitypartners.com/workplace-intelligence-series/

08/28/2026

Dolly Parton gave us a lot of things. Incredible music, big hair, bigger personality, enormous heart, and one of the best workplace culture commentaries ever made.

9 to 5 was funny, but the workplace it portrayed wasn't.

A boss who abused his power.

Women whose ideas and contributions weren't valued.

Employees who felt powerless to challenge bad behavior.

A workplace where the person at the top could behave terribly because… well, he was the person at the top.

Sound familiar?

That movie came out in 1980.

And more than four decades later, I'm still working with organizations dealing with modern versions of the same problems.

We have new technology. New policies. New job titles. New language for workplace culture.

But toxic leadership, power imbalances, disrespect, inequity, and employees afraid to speak up?

Those haven't disappeared.

That's part of what made Dolly so special. She could wrap a serious message in humor, rhinestones and a song you couldn't get out of your head.

She made us laugh at something that really wasn't funny at all.

The world lost an extraordinary woman this week. And while there's so much to celebrate about her life, her music, generosity, philanthropy and unmistakable Dolly-ness, I'll also remember the way she helped put the experience of working women into popular culture.

Rest easy, Dolly.

We'll keep working on that whole 9 to 5 problem.

https://civilitypartners.com/workplace-intelligence-series/

08/27/2026

What do you actually DO when Dave starts being Dave?

Because “speak up” sounds simple… until you’re sitting across the table from him.

Here are a few ways to respond in the moment:

1. Redirect the interruption: “Dave, I’d like to let Maria finish her thought.” This doesn’t require attacking Dave. You’re simply giving the floor back to the person who had it.

2. Name what’s happening: “We’re starting to talk over each other. Let’s slow this down.” Sometimes naming the dynamic is enough to interrupt it.

3. Reinforce the person who was shut down: “Priya, you were saying something before we moved on. Can you finish?” Being an upstander isn’t always about confronting the person behaving badly. Sometimes it’s about making sure the person impacted isn’t erased.

4. Address it privately when the moment isn’t right: “Dave, I noticed you interrupted several people in that meeting. I’m not sure you intended it this way, but it made it difficult for others to contribute.” Not every intervention has to happen publicly.

5. Check in with the person afterward: “I noticed what happened in there. Are you okay?” Support matters, too.

Because telling people “If you see something, say something” isn’t training. Teaching them what to say and how to say it is.

Get our toolkit and give your people the skills to challenge toxic behaviors: https://learn.civilitypartners.com/course/train-the-trainer-toolkit

08/26/2026

3 Signs Toxic Leaders Have No Idea They’re Toxic

Is your leader unaware of their toxic behavior? Learn three signs they may lack self-awareness and how to address the impact on their team.

08/25/2026

Your toxic leader may not be the evil mastermind everyone thinks they are.

Many abrasive leaders genuinely don't understand how they're landing. Their intentions might even be good. They're trying to drive results, maintain standards, or solve problems and somehow leaving fear, frustration, and disengagement in their wake.

The distinction matters because you can't effectively change behavior until you understand what's driving it. Someone who lacks self-awareness needs a very different intervention from someone who knows they're hurting people and simply doesn't care.

This is exactly what I've spent more than two decades helping organizations figure out. I coach abrasive and toxic leaders to see the impact they're having, understand what drives their behavior, and replace destructive habits with behaviors that actually get results without destroying everyone around them.

Because labeling someone "toxic" is easy. Changing their behavior takes expertise.

Join my Workplace Intelligence Series, where we'll tackle the workplace challenges keeping HR and leaders up at night and give you practical strategies for solving them. Choose the session that hits closest to home, or join us for the entire series. https://civilitypartners.com/workplace-intelligence-series/

08/24/2026

Organizations teach people how to behave by what they reward, tolerate, ignore, and refuse to confront.

And yet, you keep trying to fix individuals without examining the system that keeps producing the behavior. Then you're shocked when the problem comes back wearing a different name tag.

Our upcoming Workplace Intelligence Series goes beyond surface-level fixes and gives HR and leaders practical strategies for addressing the cultural conditions that allow workplace problems to repeat themselves.

And no, "boost morale with a pizza party" will not be one of my recommendations.

If you're tired of playing workplace whack-a-mole, register for the series and let's start fixing the conditions creating the problems. https://civilitypartners.com/workplace-intelligence-series/