Are you terrified of having tough conversations?
I admit this is one of the parts of being a leader that I struggle with most. And I know I am not alone, as many of the leaders I am #coaching have been raising this as a challenge holding them back.
One of the most effective and important things we can do to make having that tough conversation easier is to actually prepare. Not just what we want to say, but why we want to say it. And to get ourselves into the right headspace.
We don’t need to go into these conversations as the “bad guy” scolding my employee or team mate like a naughty child. The most powerful #toughconversations are the ones that we come into as partners, discussing and debating the issue and the way forward as peers.
I love this advice from Joseph Grenny’s Harvard Business Review article on the four things you should do before a tough conversation.
Have you used any of these techniques? What impact did they make in how you handled those tough conversations and the outcomes that were achieved?
And if these tough conversations are a leadership challenge that you want to work on, then type TOUGH in the comments below.
– Natalie Dawes CEO & Founder
#leadershipcoach #leadershipdevelopment
