Leadership = Having Tough Conversations

Research from the Leadership Training Company, Crucial Learning shows that 1 in 4 people have been putting off an uncomfortable conversation for at least 6 months. In fact, 1 in 10 have kept quiet about uneasy issues for over 2 years.

Riaz Meghji, author of Every Conversation Counts, talks about 4 tips to face difficult conversations head-on and help diffuse conflict.

Be Assertively Empathetic – identify with the experience of the other person, not just yours. Use deep, active listening and consider framing the conversation with relationship first, logic second.

Let Go of Likeability – manage your expectation of being liked to avoid taking things personally.

Own Your Emotions – manage your own emotions by using ‘I’ statements and avoid broad phrases like ‘you always’, ‘you never’, etc.

Focus on What you Can Agree On – find common ground by finding what’s 10% right about what the other person said. Try “What I like about that is… and I would add…”.

Openness, a clear goal and an interest in solving the problem at hand will help set the right tone when entering conversations that might feel hard.

Using these tips can take some of the stress out of it so that you can lead with more ease.

What conversations are you avoiding? Which tip will help you most with tough conversations? What are you willing to try for the sake of your relationships?

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