In the first part of this blog series the setting for the discomfort felt by both the manager (speaker) and the staff member (listener) was explored. Often the discomfort felt by the manager is momentarily acknowledged then put aside as though it shouldn’t happen and it is weak or poor management to feel this way. However, […]
Continue reading
Holding a conversation for which you believe the content will upset the listener evokes the concept of a difficult conversation. Difficult because the speaker often assumes the news will be difficult for the receiver to hear. And so the conversation also becomes labelled as difficult for the speaker to know how best to frame what […]
Continue reading
Will the real agenda please stand up! One of the biggest contributors to mistrust between a staff member and their manager is the belief by the staff member that the manager has a hidden agenda. The staff member doesn’t know what the manager’s hidden agenda is but they have such a strong suspicion that one exists they […]
Continue reading
This is the fourth blog on the subject of difficult conversations. You can read the first article here, the second article here and third article here. The manager, needing to navigate and present a difficult conversation cannot do so from a mindful and emotionally intelligent state unless they have already addressed the processes outlined in the […]
Continue reading
The workplace is a melting pot of people with different personalities, personal values, past experiences and levels of maturity in self awareness and emotional intelligence. This means that each colleague will react to situations in different ways according to their fears and subconscious protection mechanisms. Unfortunately this means that some of your colleagues will react inappropriately […]
Continue reading
In an earlier post titled ‘Who Really is the Difficult Conversation For?’ I discussed the four stages for ensuring a clear and factual communication exchange that is both productive and constructive. Such a conversation is not just about conveying information, it is also about using the exchange to build rapport, understanding and professional relationships. In light […]
Continue reading
This is the third blog on the subject of difficult conversations. You can read the first article here and the second article here. A manager preparing for a difficult conversation cannot make this a constructive conversation unless they have been prepared to recognise they have been masking their reaction to their own intrapersonal conflict about the […]
Continue reading
Why does someone raise their voice at other person/s in the workplace? Some staff will raise their voice in the workplace to express or release frustration or anger. The release of wrath onto another person/s would be a breach of the organisation’s Code of Conduct and should not be tolerated or condoned. There is a time to […]
Continue reading
Hang on a minute – who really is this ‘difficult conversation’ difficult for? Many managers have told me that they need to properly prepare for a meeting with a staff member because the meeting will be uncomfortable for the staff member and the conversation content will be difficult to receive. What I believe the manager is really […]
Continue reading
Research of more than 1,300 Australian professionals found: Employers ranked the top two leadership traits as ‘strong work ethic’ and ‘record of success’ however employees ranked the importance of these leadership traits as ninth and eleventh respectively; Employees ranked the leadership traits of communication and team building as second and third in importance compared to […]
Continue reading