Shayne Hughes & Brandon Black, Authors, Ego Free Leadership

A workplace without politics is as mythical as a unicorn. But when those politics undermine company morale, it’s time to take a closer look—before they cut into the bottom line.

Brandon Black was grappling with an all-too-familiar scenario in his then workplace. The erstwhile CEO of Encore Capital was struggling to grow the company given the challenging industry conditions. It didn’t help that a number of Encore’s leaders were locking horns with each other over a range of issues. Brandon himself was butting heads with one of his key executives, Dave.

No matter how hard they tried, Brandon and Dave couldn’t seem to communicate effectively with each other. To a bystander, their bickering would have recalled a married couple caught in a downward spiral—you know, conversations going nowhere, with each assuming the other was the problem, and that their communication would improve if only the other changed their behavior.