Fixable — "Quick Fixes: How to stop judging your colleagues, pick your battles, and delegate responsibly"

Hosts: Anne Morriss (CEO & bestselling author), Frances Frei (Harvard Business Professor)
Date: February 2, 2026

Episode Overview

In this Quick Fix episode, leadership coaches (and married couple) Anne Morriss and Frances Frei tackle three workplace dilemmas submitted by listeners:

1. How to work with a challenging colleague,
2. How to choose what to be "bad" at in order to achieve excellence (especially when constraints exist),
3. How to delegate and empower teams effectively without losing track of important issues.

Their approach: fast, candid, research-backed, and flavored with both warmth and straight talk.

1. Navigating Conflict with a Difficult Colleague

[02:10 – 10:44]

Situation

Caller 1 is frustrated by a colleague who routinely overrides decisions, communicates curtly, and undermines her credibility with field leaders. She can’t avoid this person professionally and seeks advice on how to move forward without burning out.

Key Insights & Advice

• The “Monster” Effect & High Conflict
  When someone becomes a “two-dimensional caricature,” you're stuck in high conflict, which can paralyze progress.

  "When the other person has become a two-dimensional caricature, it probably means we are not in a productive place."
  —Anne Morriss [03:16]

• We Are Part of the Problem
  Recognizing your own role is a necessary first step.

  "We are part of the problem."
  —Frances Frei [03:37]

• Use the Ladder of Inference (Chris Argyris)
  Instead of reacting to the full-blown story in your head, come down to the bare facts: what was actually said and done. Try to see the other person's perspective.

  "If this person were in this conversation right now, what is the story they would tell about their own behavior?"
  —Anne Morriss [04:22]

• The Technology is Conversation
  Productive conflict and collaboration start with willingness to talk about the undiscussable, even if it gets messy.

  "The technology to get that dimensionality is called a conversation."
  —Anne Morriss [06:09]

  "They weren't even that good at [discussing the undiscussable]. They were just willing to have these conversations."
  —Anne Morriss [06:49]

• Practical Example
  Anne shares a story of a CEO convinced a direct report was leading a “coup.” By discussing it openly, they discovered mutual misunderstandings and dramatically improved their working relationship.

Memorable Quotes

• "Until you get a three-dimensional version of the other person, you are unlikely to make progress."
  —Frances Frei [06:01]
• "You can make tremendous progress even if that other person isn't meeting you halfway."
  —Anne Morriss [09:51]

Bottom Line

Acknowledge your own role, seek curiosity over judgment, and have open conversations—even (especially) about the tough stuff.

2. Choosing What to Be "Bad" At—Constrained Excellence in Regulated Environments

[13:03 – 21:10]

Situation

Listener asks: In a heavily regulated environment (like a school), how can you decide what to be “bad” at in order to be great at something else, especially when so many tasks are required by law but not valued by users?

Key Insights & Advice

• Reverse Engineer From Excellence, Not Mediocrity
  Don’t start by deciding what to be bad at. Start by deciding what to be great at; then, figure out what you must be “good enough” at (your “hygiene factors”) to stay in the game.

  "You decide what to be great at and then you reverse engineer what to be bad at."
  —Frances Frei [14:09]

  "In order for you to stamp the word hypodermic [on a needle], it has to be 99% sterile ... So there are things that you have to be good enough [at]."
  —Frances Frei [15:20]

• Hygiene Factors
  These are the regulatory, legal, or basic standards you cannot fall below—just enough to be considered, not to differentiate.

  "You can't dare to be bad at these things, nor can your competitors."
  —Anne Morriss [16:37]

• Prioritize Stakeholder Preferences
  Deeply understand what your stakeholders care about most. Try to be great at what matters most to them, and worst at what matters least (within constraints).

  "Be great at things that are higher up on the order of priorities and ... worst at things that are lower down."
  —Frances Frei [17:18]

• The Futility of Mandatory Perfectionism
  Trying to be great at everything leads to "exhausted mediocrity."

  "It reliably leads to exhausted mediocrity. Does that explain where you are? ... You are not a hard day’s work away from excellence. You actually will never get there on this path."
  —Frances Frei [19:13]

• Cases in Point
  Even in regulated industries (e.g., Southwest Airlines), competitive advantage comes from consciously daring to be “bad” at certain things to free up resources for differentiation.

  "They were asking you to give up these things that you valued less in order to get the thing that you valued more."
  —Anne Morriss [21:10]

Memorable Quotes

• "You jump from the nobility of effort to the nobility of excellence. And that's what ruthless prioritization allows you to do."
  —Frances Frei [20:23]

Bottom Line

Understand the non-negotiables, then prioritize ruthlessly and be strategically “bad” at less essential things to free up energy and stand out.

3. The Art of Delegation & Empowerment Without Losing Sight

[23:41 – 29:54]

Situation

A manager wants to empower their team but finds important issues aren’t being surfaced at the right time. How do you empower and keep critical concerns from slipping through the cracks?

Key Insights & Advice

• Empowerment Requires Active Engagement
  It is not a “set and forget” process. Effective delegation is “full-contact, hands-on.”

  "Empowerment is an active, full contact, hands on sport. ... I think there is this myth that's out there that you can kind of passively like give people decision rights."
  —Anne Morriss [24:08]

• Leverage Rubrics for Decision-Making
  Use frameworks (e.g., Jeff Bezos' Type 1/Type 2 decisions, Claire Hughes Johnson's impact/reversibility rubric) to clarify which decisions require input and which can be delegated.

  "Type 1 is a one way door... Of course, the senior leadership is going to be very involved in those, distinct from Type 2 decisions which are reversible ... yeah, give that shit away."
  —Anne Morriss [25:57]

  "Claire's point is just be very explicit about what the agreement is."
  —Anne Morriss [26:22]

• Customize Your Approach—Developmental Delegation
  Adjust oversight based on the task, environment, and the individual’s experience. Be crystal clear on expectations in advance.

  "One size fits all is not the case in empowerment or what you're calling delegation. I frame it as developmental delegation."
  —Frances Frei [27:01]

  "If you are a black box, it's difficult for me to do my job. I either have to be not good at my job or annoying. We're trying to liberate from that binary."
  —Frances Frei [28:20]

• Netflix Exception
  Radically empowered cultures (like Netflix) succeed only because every other system and expectation is designed explicitly for it—most organizations are not there yet.

  "The only organization ... that is truly a high empowerment organization ... is Netflix ... They're wildly intentional about all of the other design choices that they are making."
  —Anne Morriss [28:37]

  "If you are not doing that, you're gonna have to use your words a lot more."
  —Frances Frei [29:54]

Memorable Quotes

• "All right, Frances, we're going to leave it there. Three short questions, three long answers. Just what the people want."
  —Anne Morriss [30:08]

Bottom Line

Empowerment and delegation work best with clear frameworks, intentional design, and explicit agreements—true “hands-off” only works if the whole organization is built for that.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dealing with Difficult Colleagues: [02:10 – 10:44]
• Choosing What to Be “Bad” At: [13:03 – 21:10]
• Delegation & Empowerment: [23:41 – 29:54]

Notable Quotes

• "When the other person has become a two-dimensional caricature, it probably means we are not in a productive place."
  —Anne Morriss [03:16]
• "You decide what to be great at and then you reverse engineer what to be bad at."
  —Frances Frei [14:09]
• "It reliably leads to exhausted mediocrity... You actually will never get there on this path."
  —Frances Frei [19:13]
• "Empowerment is an active, full contact, hands on sport."
  —Anne Morriss [24:08]
• "If you are a black box, it's difficult for me to do my job. ... We're trying to liberate from that binary."
  —Frances Frei [28:20]

Episode Takeaways

• Don’t demonize colleagues; seek multi-dimensional understanding and open dialogue.
• In constrained settings, start from “what to be great at” and accept strategic imperfection on lower-priority things.
• Delegation and empowerment require structure, clarity, and adaptability—few organizations thrive with ‘radical empowerment’ unless they have been built for it from the ground up.

Engaging, honest, and actionable, this episode is a mini-masterclass in grown-up leadership—served up at Fixable speed and with trademark candor.