A short instructional talk guiding managers on how to prepare for and conduct difficult workplace conversations. It emphasizes gathering facts, active listening, asking clarifying questions, keeping emotional bias in check, holding an outcome-oriented goal, and using respectful, non-blaming language. The speaker previews both planned and unplanned conversation scenarios as contexts to apply these strategies.
Chapters
Addressing problems in the workplace is a tricky business. I'm not going to sit here and pretend it's simple. You might not have clout, your relationships and workplace culture might not be the best at this point, and any other set of circumstances and conditions could be set against you just waiting to trip you up. But that doesn't mean you can't set yourself up for success for when a tough conversation needs to happen. You want some tips to go into these with your best chance of success? Well, first, get your facts straight. If you've got time to pull information together ahead of the conversation, great. Do that. If not, take time during the convo to really listen. And while you're doing that, be sure to ask clarifying questions. This is all part of active listening. Try not to let your preconceptions and your in the moment impulses force you to draw early conclusions. You've lived life so you've got biases on board. Be sure to keep those puppies at bay while you gather the facts of a situation. That said, you're probably not operating in a vacuum here. What I mean is, as a manager, you should go into the conversation with some end goal in mind. That goal could be identify next steps, or it could be inform the employee they're being terminated. Just because you're actively listening doesn't mean you have to lose control of the conversation. Keep some mental anchors in place and a mental checklist of what you need to get done in the conversation. There's never just a cliff drop. There's always some direction on next steps you'll need to convey. And at least one of you is going to have to go do something with new information afterward. Here's another Be careful of what you say and how you say it, regardless of how you feel. Good mental approach. Pretend everything's being recorded. How would that change your language and behavior? Yeah, it makes a difference, doesn't it? Something to remember is that you need to avoid placing blame in your conversation. If it helps, use more I and we statements that don't target the employee directly. You still need to be assertive and hold the employee accountable wherever needed. But focus on doing this with respectful language and mannerisms. Avoid defensiveness when the likely backlash comes out. The real challenge is to separate emotion from logic and priorities without ditching emotional intelligence. If it helps, you can frame your conversation around the basics like defining the situation, explaining the behavior you're addressing and and expecting and describing the impact of decisions. You getting the idea yet these strategies will help you whether or not you plan the convo, especially as you put them into practice. But hey, let's talk through a couple of typical planned conversations you're likely to have. Think about how the strategies I've laid out for you might play out later. We'll talk about a few unplanned convos. Neither are super fun, but they're all a reality of managing people sa.
