Difficult conversations, a dying art.

Difficult, challenging conversations are the centrepiece of an effective team, an effective relationship, an effective organisation- and yet time after time we avoid having them.

Nothing can nor should replace this essential human interaction.

Organisationally: behaviour management; team effectiveness; performance review; visioning and forward planning are some of the essential areas where difficult conversations are required.

In our personal relationships: connectedness, boundaries and harmony to identify a few, all require the same internal reflection and challenging conversations.

There is a skill in managing those conversations, dealing with emotion, conflict or false perception is not always straight forward, but a carried, unresolved issue sits with us and can over a period of time skew our thought process and behaviour.

Ask yourself.
1) What part do I play in this? Reflect on your involvement and responsibility.
2) Express the concern/ issue in a balanced way.
3) Allow the other person the opportunity to have their say (listen).
4) Develop a solution together (this can also be agree to disagree).

Practice makes perfect, so next time there is a difficult conversation to be had, have it and if you are not sure where to start, talk it through with someone first.

Please help to save the difficult conversation, it is worth it.

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