Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, where we help

leaders design work so that results, wellness, and engagement all thrive together.

And if you're a leader of a team wishing you could get more from and do more for your team,

you're in luck. I'll be hosting a complimentary live roundtable on this very topic

on September 17th, 2025 at 1 p.m. Eastern. You can learn more and register for free at lead

above noise.com forward slash work design. So on to today's episode. Let's start with a random exercise. I want you to picture your colleagues,

the ones you tend to work with every day. Think about your experience of working with them,

and then in your head assign each one an emoji. Like maybe, hopefully, a few are the heart eyes face.

But be honest, is anyone the frowny face?

Or the, I'm covering my eyes so it's not my problem face?

Is anyone the actual poop?

Truth be told, a range of emojis is normal.

We don't have to love everyone we work with.

But we do have to actually work with everyone we work with,

even when there's friction or tension.

And you may not be surprised to learn this comes up a lot for me. And that's what we're going to talk about today, how to better manage team friction through work design, not through major overhauls,

but by changing how things flow, how your team operates together, inside the

container of your work. Because when there's an absence of ease, it impacts the results. So let's talk

about how I like to address this. Sometimes a client will say something like, the kids are fighting

and I need it resolved. And I get it. I see why a leader may feel like a

referee sometimes, but often what feels like bickering is actually a symptom of a meaningful and

solvable problem. I like to use four domains of teamwork as both a diagnostic and a design tool

...