Difficult decisions and challenging conversations are inextricably linked. You don’t get to the big decisions on strategy, structure, or talent without some tough discussions. Yet often, we as leaders fail to model the right behaviors. Here are eight ideas to help you and your team strengthen discussion and decision-making processes.
Regardless of your best planning, careful observation, and deft delivery sometimes feedback discussions blow up in your face. Here are three common reactions and how to steer the feedback discussion back on track if you encounter them.
A day in the life of a manager is a day spent navigating challenging communication situations. Successful managers understand the importance of building their messages using the three legs of the communication stool. They also understand how to apply six key rules and tools to succeed in challenging communication situations.
Any conversation at work where you are asking someone for something is a form of negotiation. Effective managers and leaders use the principles of positive persuasion to get what they need and strengthen relationships in the process.
Real progress in the workplace occurs through challenging conversations. Unfortunately, fear and a lack of self-confidence often get in the way of us conducting these conversations. Here are 4 steps to help quell your fear and grow your self-confidence.
When faced with a sudden meeting room confrontation, it’s imperative to maintain control and not allow your natural fight or flight instinct to take over. A simple reboot mantra and a few precious seconds to breathe and process will help you win the day.
Simply stated, challenging conversations are where we mine the gold from our leadership and management efforts. It’s too bad we spend so much time delaying or dodging these discussions. When we do engage, often, we muddle our way through and leave money and performance on the table. Join me for my free webinar on the six challenging conversations at work you must learn to master to succeed.
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective. In this article, I share six ideas on how to use a leadership journal to strengthen your performance through continuous daily improvement.
I learned to love challenging conversations the hard way. I delayed and destroyed a number of these earlier in my career until I recognized these are truly the opportunities for managers to mine gold in the form of development, learning, problem-solving and innovation. Here are some key reasons why you need to learn to love challenging conversations:
Perhaps the single most valuable piece of career advice I ever received happened early in my career. I’m not certain I understood the importance of this advice at the time, but it stuck with me. The advice is:
