Bitter versus Hurt

Great teams do not avoid hurt feelings because hurt feelings are normal in every human interaction. Great teams respond to hurt feelings better than ordinary teams that either avoid them or respond poorly to them. If someone on a team gets hurt and doesn’t communicate but rather disengages, then that hurt will fester into bitterness. If a team hurts someone and dismisses it, then that can also cause bitterness. Bitterness is something that can turn the best teammate into a team liability very quickly.