Having Difficult Conversations: A Guide for Managers

- As a leader your conversations directly affect behavior, performance, and results. One of the skills you need to become a top leader is the ability to initiate difficult conversations. And because you're here, I consider you to be a top performer, someone who understands the value that a good manager brings to business results and to the organization's culture. Avoiding difficult conversations is costly to organizations. These costs show up as poor performance, absenteeism, and turnover, not to mention litigation. The conversation avoided today often becomes the lawsuit of tomorrow. But let's face it, initiating difficult conversations is not a skill where you can just wing it and hope for the best. To be an excellent leader, you need skills, processes, mindsets, and distinctions. In this course, we'll go over how to know when it's time to have a conversation and what to do if you've waited too long. I'll give you practical strategies to manage emotions, and the right mindset to help your employees receive valuable feedback. We'll also address the biggest time waster almost every manager faces, getting stuck in the middle of employee problems. I'll show you how to stop fixing and start coaching. You'll learn how curiosity and listening can be some of your best tools. My name is Marlene Chism and I'm a consultant, author, and executive educator. I work with managers and leaders who want to develop the skills and mindsets that create accountable cultures. After taking this course, you won't have to stumble around difficult conversations. You'll have a method to map out your conversations so you can create an accountable culture. Let's get started.