Caring about people is one of my values and strengths but it can also be one of my weaknesses – particularly when it turns into ‘parenting’ rather than ‘caring’.  The psychologist Eric Berne developed a theory which says that there are three “ego states” – parent, child, adult and that (as grown ups) we all switch between them. In a conversation you can have a discussion adult to adult or parent to child, but not child to adult or parent to adult.  At work (and with most grown up conversations) the aim should always be to have adult to adult conversations, however I am continually surprised by how often I…