Hi,
We ran into a real sticky one this week. How to put this…

One of our group was trying out one of the empathy exercises and she let a contractor get further and further behind in his work because he said he was having personal difficulties. She thought: be patient and kind and help him try to keep the job. However, after a while he stopped doing the work and even billed her. She believes he lied and wrote him, such and terminated the position. Now she feels like she failed because noone seemed to benefit from the situation including the clients.

To sum up – where did she stop being empathetic, acting ethically and transform into a doormat? She is also upset and feels used.

The group told her that her one opportunity was where she told him the job was over. Since we all lie, could she have couched it in terms that were more kind.

My question – because she let it go on too long, should she have just taken full responsibility for his actions with regard to the company and prevented the loss of his reputation? Should she have treated him like any other contractor only instill kindness and respect while maintaining his committment be fulfilled from the beginning?

Thanks,
Tracy