Russ Powell Consulting

Want people to actually act on your requests — especially in tough conversations?

Balance your challenge with empathy.

In our Middle Path workshops, we teach that effective leadership means balancing moves of empathy with moves of challenge. When we want something from someone, we're navigating two things at once: understanding the human in front of us AND asking for what the situation requires.

I found a brilliant 60-second example in a scene from The Pitt.

A kid whose mom is dying of cancer is standing outside her hospital room. An attending doctor approaches with a challenge. When her first attempt doesn't land, she shifts — making brief, deliberate moves of empathy. She relates to him, even mirrors his posture, just long enough to say: "I see you. I hear you."

Then she offers her challenge again. And he acts on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7amQq3yS-8

The lesson: when you're about to make a tough request, pause. Make some moves of empathy first. Show the other person you understand what's happening in their world. Then state your challenge. You'll dramatically increase the chance it's heard — and acted on.

When has a moment of empathy made someone more open to a tough ask? I'd love to hear it.

Cancer Sucks -- Balancing Empathy and Challenge Want people to actually act on your requests — especially in tough or awkward conversations?Balance your challenge with empathy.In our Middle Path workshops,...

I don’t usually share longer writing here, but I wrote something this morning that's important to me.

It’s about leadership, grief, trust, and what it takes to stay human in chaotic times.

I’ve been noticing how many thoughtful, capable people seem quietly worn down—and how often teams stop saying what they’re really seeing and thinking.

If you’ve been feeling some version of that, you’re not alone. This is for you.

👉

Working With What Remains: Leadership in Unsettled Times When systems we believed in cause harm, something inside us gets injured. That injury often shows up as fatigue, cynicism, and disengagement. But underneath it is often moral sorrow: the pain of caring in environments that don’t always seem to value care.

If your system is working against your people, no amount of training is going to magically save the day.

This came up in a podcast recording today, and it sent me right back to an old blog post that still hits the mark.

Before rolling out more training, do a quick reality check:
• Have we defined what “good” looks like?
• Are people getting real, timely feedback—not mysterious hints?
• Are workflows something people can find and follow?
• Do people have the time and tools to do the job well?

If the environment is a mess, your training budget is basically setting money on fire.

Fix the system, and everything clicks faster.

Here’s the post:

If You Pit a Good Performer Against a Bad System, the System Will Win Almost Every Time -- https://www.russpowell.com/post/if-you-pit-a-good-performer-against-a-bad-system-the-system-will-win-almost-every-time-rummler

If You Pit a Good Performer Against a Bad System, the System Will Win Every Time Here's a brilliant model of behavioral influence that I find useful in my day-to-day work. It's particularly useful for coaches, trainers, instructional designers, managers, executives—really, any leader invested in helping people and teams perform better.