“I Have Come Close to Crying”: How Manufacturing Leaders Navigate Difficult Workplace Conversations and Opportunities for Collaborative Technology Support
Authors: Everlyne Kimani Cross, Luiza Santos, Scott Carter, Kate A Sieck Published in: Companion of the Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW Companion ’26), 2026
Difficult workplace conversations about performance, policy enforcement, conflict, and safety are inherently collaborative acts that shape team dynamics and leader-member relationships. Yet managers in manufacturing receive limited institutional support for navigating their roles. We report on a constructivist grounded theory study based on interviews with seven managers in manufacturing and adjacent sectors. We develop a process theory, Managing Vulnerability While Maintaining Authority, that describes six stages for navigating difficult conversations and four cross-cutting tensions that operate as generative mechanisms at each stage. Key findings include that leaders calibrate their approach through relational and organizational context far more than scripted technique; expertise develops through situated peer learning at real interpersonal cost; and more than half of participants use general-purpose AI despite its lack of contextual awareness. We contribute design implications for collaborative conversation support and discuss the sociotechnical risks of deploying decontextualized AI in relationally sensitive workplace settings.