STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
How not to hire a psychopath. How to say goodbye. What about everything in between? The messy middle: where most behavioral concerns (dots) are first seen, and where frontline managers are most often least equipped to help.
We often promote high-performing producers into management without the people skills to match. Gallup research finds that 82% of managers never receive formal training in people management; and separately, that organizations choose candidates without the right managerial talent 82% of the time. That's not a manager problem – that's an organizational one. Behaviors of concern – financial stress, intimate partner violence, substance use, disengagement – show up in the middle, long before formal process. And the manager sees them first.
Stuck in the Middle with You is a practical, engaging session about the awareness and communication skills that matter most: for managers, for the HR/ER professionals who support them, and for security professionals who want to build strong partnerships. The awareness and communication skills in this session are upstream prevention tools: equally applicable to physical safety, workplace violence, or insider risk. Build skills you can use in wellness, prevention, and life!
Objectives:
Understand why the messy middle is where most behavioral warning signs appear: and why most managers are underprepared to recognize them
Identify key behavioural indicators of concern – financial stress, IPV, substance use, and disengagement – and how these can escalate when unaddressed
Recognize when performance management may be an exit tool rather than genuine support – and what upstream intervention can look like instead
Apply practical communication skills and low-barrier support pathways – and how HR, Safety and Wellness can build trusted partnerships with managers