How to Work With Anyone

Learning to work effectively with anyone is one of the most critical yet underrated career skills. Early in a career, professionals have flexibility to choose teams and managers, but as they advance, those choices disappear. Senior leaders often cannot pick their peers, boards, or C-suite colleagues. Four practical approaches help navigate this: starting with empathy by understanding others' incentives rather than personalities; finding genuine common ground to build trust; sharing credit and praise generously with collaborators; and adopting a 'same-side' posture that frames challenges as shared problems. Most difficult colleagues are not bad actors but frustrated people responding to pressures and incentives that aren't immediately visible. Recognizing this shifts conflict into collaboration.