Here at the office, K.Lo is quite a chatterbox. I, on the other hand, am not. I have in the past felt compelled to dialogue with the employee whenever invited, out of some sense of Managerial Duty; however, I have recently begun rethinking this strategy. I seem, actually, to get into more trouble at times when I keep the conversation going. For instance, not every negative can be turned into a positive with an un-distractible child, and sometimes the answer to, “I WANT TO PLAY MARIO KART WII” first thing in the morning is simply, “NO.” And saying that “NO” can lead us to our Dark Place on an otherwise pleasant morning.

Sometimes, it works better with K.Lo to just let her run. Let her chatter on until the request runs its course, intervening to combat the Four Alarm Emergency Voice (FAEV) where needed, but mainly just, dare I say it, I-G-N-O-R-I-N-G the verbal antics of the small employee.

Sometimes, she just wants to talk, and doesn’t necessarily need a response. When she acts out Scenes from the Outsourcer, for instance, K.Lo seems to appreciate an “Oh yeah?” or a “Really?” thrown in here and there from Management, but much more than that interrupts her groove. Sometimes, she even gets mad about it.

Communication with employees is a constant, ever-changing series of negotiations; who knew that Less is sometimes More?