Today I witnessed how to stay professional and positive, regardless of who you work with.

Around lunchtime, I stopped by the post office to get a passport photo taken. Sure, I know there are faster or fancier places, but this stop fit my errand route, and I thought it’d be easy enough.

When I got to the counter, a kind, smiling clerk, Jamon, asked how he could help. I told him I needed a photo, and he asked if I had an appointment. When I said no, he responded cheerfully, “No worries, we can take you as a walk-in!”

Then he handed me an old-school clipboard and asked me to sign in, including the time of arrival.

Jamon let me know he wasn’t authorized to take the photo himself, but his colleague would be out shortly.

I waited. Twenty-five minutes later, MJ sauntered out from the back.

She glanced at the clipboard and immediately snapped, “Why did you sign this already? You weren’t supposed to do that until I handed it to you!” Her tone was sharp. Without skipping a beat, she grabbed her pen and scribbled over the time I had written, changing it to the current time, presumably making her metrics look better.

Next, she had me fill out a form, took the photo, and as I was walking out, I heard her chastising her colleague Jamon who had been so helpful to me. She told him it was her job to have people sign in.

Let me be clear Jamon was respectful, professional, and gracious, despite his colleague, and she may have been his supervisor. I felt a pang of compassion for him. He was doing his job with kindness and care, while working either with or under someone who seemed more focused on covering herself than supporting the team.

Watching this unfold reminded me of a man in a workshop I taught years ago. Like Jamon, he was hardworking, service-oriented, and clearly well-liked.

When I asked how he handled the toxic dynamics around him, he smiled and said:

“I’m Teflon. I don’t let their stuff stick to me. I show up, do my job, and treat people well, no matter what’s going on around me.”

That phrase has stuck with me ever since.

So today, watching Jamon quietly absorb MJ’s behavior without letting it change his own, I thought: There’s Teflon in action.

It made me wonder, how do you handle it when the people around you are challenging… or even untrustworthy?

Do you let it stick? Or do you find a way to rise above?