Navigating Difficult Conversations
“We need to change our mindset around difficult conversations if we are to master them. Difficult conversations are not all-or-nothing, win-or-lose battles of will. Rather, difficult conversations are opportunities for greater understanding and learning, designed to meet a shared goal or purpose.”
Difficult conversations happen all the time, in our personal and our professional lives. Our ability to effectively navigate these conversations can have a disproportionate impact on our life. In our personal life, our ability to effectively navigating difficult conversations can impact our relationships with people. But in our professional lives, our ability to effectively navigate difficult conversations can make or break our careers.
Navigating difficult conversations effectively in a professional setting allows you to solve problems directly, build stronger and healthier professional relationships, and overall be more effective at your job. It allows you to give and receive feedback in meaningful ways. And it is also a vital management skill, because managing complex systems and teams requires addressing issues quickly and thoughtfully, while still maintaining the trust and respect of your teammates. In other words, our ability to navigate difficult conversations is a leadership discipline.
This module helps people understand why difficult conversations are so difficult and provides techniques and tools to help people navigate difficult conversations effectively.
How This Module Will Help You
- You will understand why difficult conversations are so difficult.
- You will learn a three-step process that can help you prepare for and navigate difficult conversations in effectively.
- You will be empowered to proactively approach problem-solving through difficult conversations.
- You will practice these skills through simulations of some common, real-world examples of difficult conversations that occur in the workplace.