How To Have A Difficult Conversation

Having a difficult conversation is never easy, especially in the workplace. If the conflict doesn’t get solved, it can lead to employees feeling invaluable, having emotional confrontations, and being insecure about their ability to handle the workload.

Company Values Are Important

Values are ideas that are core to who you are and who your business is, and any violation of these values is not compatible with how you want your business run. Therefore, ensuring your employees and staff share in and respect these values will reduce friction and ensure that everyone aligns with the work that they’re doing.

For example, if transparent communication is one of your core values, you want to find employees that aren’t afraid to share information and aren’t afraid to speak frankly. Similarly, managers and supervisors need to be able to hear and process news that may not be what they expect, be capable of dealing with bad news, and not take things personally nor negatively treat bearers of bad news.

By setting the ground rules upfront, you can find like-minded employees, and your business will only be more successful because your team will have the same values you have created for the company.

How To Have A Difficult Conversation At Work

One of the reasons why difficult conversations are nerve-racking is because many grew up in a world where their parents told them, “if you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say it at all.”

Before you take this as me saying to go ahead and criticize people, don’t. That’s not what I mean at all. Rather, what I want you to do is start with two positives. Then, in the next step, identify the issue at hand while owning your own mistakes.

Maybe you forgot to update the other person about a deadline change or didn’t clearly communicate your standards for the project at hand. Whatever it might be, taking ownership of your own mistakes can help the conversation go smoother and show others what you’re trying to do to prevent a similar issue from happening in the future.

Since this is a conversation, remember to let the other person have an opportunity to respond to what you said. Rather than listening just to respond, remember to try and listen to understand the other’s point of view. Try putting yourself in their shoes. It can help give you a new perspective on the matter at hand and help you make more progress.

Next, ask who you are talking with to make the needed changes and clearly state the standards again, all while letting them know of any consequences of not meeting these expectations. It can range from not receiving the promotion they wanted to even losing a job.

The last rule of engagement is to leave the conversation on a positive note. Talk about the strengths that you see and what you love that they’re doing. By ending the meeting on a high note, you can motivate them to fix the problem.

Follow Up Is Key

The next day, follow up with the person to see if they have any questions, how they’re doing, and if you can help with anything.

Let them know you care and want to see them succeed in this position. When you take this time to check in, it helps to reinforce the idea that you’re a safe person to talk with if they need help.

Get Professional Help

Tackship Consulting is here to help you and your business navigate through the issues at hand while helping you learn to deal with any future problems that come up and overcome those obstacles to optimize your overall performance.