Practise this conversation
How to deal with an employee who undermines you in front of the team
Reds want the point in one sentence. Easy to read. Harder to do when one has just cut you off.
Tasha is waiting for you
Before you go in
Tasha, your assistant shift lead, is quick and the team listens to her. Yesterday she overruled your call on the chillers in front of everyone, and they followed her. She may have had a point, but it can’t happen again. You’ve asked her for ten minutes before tomorrow’s shift.
Good luck.
Your goal
Make it clear that overruling you in front of the team can’t happen again, and agree how Tasha raises it when she disagrees with a call.
Up to 8 turns, about five minutes, then feedback from our AI coach. Your first go at this conversation is free. After that, one credit a go (packs from £3).
Want the full rehearsal? (Pro, 6 credits for both)
What you’ll practise
- Saying what happened and why it matters in your first two lines, without a run-up.
- Giving her credit for the point she had, briefly, without backing down on the way she made it.
- Agreeing one clear rule: if she disagrees with your call, she tells you, quickly and privately, and you decide.
Your goal
Your free go at this one is used
One credit runs the whole conversation
Each new go costs one credit: a full conversation with Tasha and the coach’s feedback. Your free go at the other conversations is still there.
No code? Get BOM Credits, from 10 for £3. Your code comes by email and works across the coach tools. Full refund within 14 days if you haven’t used a credit.
What worked
Where it slipped
Say this instead
One thing to practise
Read next
Show the conversation
Ready for the real one?
Rehearse it with Tasha until you’re ready
Practise the conversation until it feels like the second time, not the first, and walk in with your best words.
- Two full rehearsals: up to 20 turns each, out loud or typed
- On the second, a hint from the coach after each reply
- Your own best lines on a card to take in with you
With the Best value pack (50 credits), 6 credits is about £1.45 · $1.90 · €1.70 · A$2.90. After that, one more go with hints is 2 credits. Private: use made-up names, and nothing you say is kept.
What we keep: nothing you typed. Your conversation stays in your browser and goes to our AI coach only to write the next reply and your feedback. Use a made-up name for the person you’re thinking of. The feedback is written by AI from your conversation and is a second pair of eyes, not a verdict on you.
Practice for reflection, not legal or HR advice. If it involves harassment, discrimination, health or safety, talk to HR or ACAS.
The full picture
Tasha is your assistant shift lead. She's quick, she gets things done and the team listens to her. Yesterday afternoon you asked two of the team to finish filling the chillers before starting the price changes. Tasha walked past, said "No, leave that, price changes first", and they did what she said. Nobody looked at you.
She might even have had a point. But the team now thinks there are two people running the shift, and the next time it happens it'll be easier for everyone. You've asked her for ten minutes in the back office before tomorrow's shift.
Why it's hard
Tasha behaves like a Red: fast, direct, focused on getting the job done. That's why she's good. It's also why a long run-up will lose her. If you start with how the shift's been going, or how you felt, she'll hear someone who doesn't know what they want, and she'll take over the conversation the way she took over the floor. The skill is saying the point in one sentence, making one clear ask, and holding it when she pushes back. The other part is keeping two things apart: whether her call was right, and how she made it. You can give her the first without giving up the second.
Two-thirds of managers say they're uncomfortable communicating with the people they manage.
Lou Solomon, Harvard Business Review, March 2016 (survey by Interact and Harris Poll)What usually goes wrong, and what you'll practise
What usually goes wrong
- Warming up with small talk or a long backstory, so she's already impatient before you get to the point.
- Apologising for raising it, or hedging ("I just felt like maybe"), which tells her it's optional.
- Getting dragged into an argument about whether the price changes really were more urgent, and never getting to how she overruled you.
What you'll practise
- Saying what happened and why it matters in your first two lines, without a run-up.
- Giving her credit for the point she had, briefly, without backing down on the way she made it.
- Agreeing one clear rule: if she disagrees with your call, she tells you, quickly and privately, and you decide.
Read before you practise
Questions people ask
What if she was right?
Say so, in one sentence, then move on. Her call and the way she made it are two different things. You can agree with the first and still be clear that the second doesn't happen in front of the team.
Should I raise it straight away next time?
A quiet word in the moment is fine if the job needs it. Arguing it out on the shop floor isn't. Keep the proper conversation for somewhere private, the same day if you can.
Credits here are BOM Credits: packs from 10 for £3 to 100 for £20, and one code works across every coach tool on the site. Full refund within 14 days if you haven't used a credit. Anything wrong, email [email protected]. How credits work