Description
WelcomE to LETS BE FRANK. tODAY i WANT TO EXPLORE Workplace Chaos AND ASK Where Did All the Grown-Ups Go? I am Ingrid von Stein, founder and CEO of Indigo Zebra Communications, a leading strategic communications specialist and a podcaster. I have worked with the best and the worst in industry and I see a common issues across workplaces. If the modern workforce feels like a playground fight rather than a place of progress, it's because we’ve lost the basics—communication, accountability, and respect. It’s time to grow up. Look around your workplace. Does it feel like an ecosystem of collaboration, trust, and progress? Or more like a dysfunctional playground, where egos clash, tempers flare, and a handful of people do all the heavy lifting while others coast or claim credit? If it’s the latter, you’re not alone. The modern workforce is in chaos. And if we don’t acknowledge it, we can’t fix it. The Breakdown: Why We’re Stuck in This Mess Shocking Communication (or Lack Thereof) - We have more ways to communicate than ever, yet we’re failing spectacularly at it. Emails go unanswered, video calls are pointless, and messages are misinterpreted. Instead of clarity, we get confusion, passive-aggression, and ‘let’s take this offline’—which translates to ‘let’s never talk about this again’. Real conversations are dying, and so is productivity. Disconnected Teams: The Killer of Progress - Departments don’t talk to each other. Groups operate like secret societies. Individuals hoard information rather than share it. The result? A fragmented workplace where no one sees the full picture, and problems get stuck in an endless loop of ‘not my job’. Egos, Credit-Stealers & the ‘Go-Along-for-the-Ride’ Crew - Every workplace has them. The ones who show up for the applause but not the work. The ones who say ‘I’ when it was actually ‘we’. And the ones who skate by, contributing the bare minimum, yet somehow climbing the ladder. Hard work doesn’t always win in these environments—loud voices and politics do. Trust, Respect & Consideration? Endangered Concepts - Basic decency has become a luxury. Trust is fragile, respect is conditional, and kindness? That’s something for ‘soft’ people, right? Wrong. Workplaces thrive when these values are embedded in culture, not treated as optional extras. The Anger Problem - We are burned out, short-tempered, and exhausted. But instead of fixing the systems that drive us to the edge, we turn on each other. Frustration manifests as arrogance, tantrums, and aggressive leadership. It’s workplace Darwinism, and it’s toxic. So, How Do We Fix It? Nothing changes if nothing changes. If we want better workplaces, we must build them. Communicate like adults – Be clear, be direct, and listen. Emails and messages aren’t substitutes for real conversations. Encourage collaboration – Share knowledge. Cross-pollinate ideas. Work together, not in isolation. Call out credit-stealing – Recognise the real contributors. Challenge cultures where visibility matters more than value. Rebuild trust – Leaders need to lead with integrity, and teams need to operate with transparency. Trust isn’t a given—it’s earned. Reintroduce respect & consideration – A simple ‘thank you’ or genuine appreciation goes further than you think. Tackle workplace anger at its root – Fix burnout culture, address toxic leadership, and create environments where people feel valued, not disposable. The Bottom Line The workforce isn’t broken beyond repair—but it is in desperate need of a reset. If we want workplaces that function, we need to start acting like functional people. Less ego, more accountability. Less noise, more substance. Because at the end of the day, work should be challenging—but it shouldn’t be war.