Children are great instructors on what's going through everyone else's head. I really don't think people's natural impulses ever stop being childlike, they just learn how to control, cope with, or hide them (to an extent anyway).

That makes children hugely instructive for how to deal with your colleagues. Understand that underneath the facade, everyone has that native wiring that kids lay bear. What kind of things do children respond well to? What do they pull away from? How do you bring the child back to your good side when they're upset?

While the incentives may become more complex with adults, the fundamentals and principles are the same, and children are a powerful lens into the human psyche.