Question of the Day – Are You Having the Difficult Conversations You Need to Have?
Question - It’s interesting to note how many important conversations never happen at work (they are usually the difficult ones) – but they should have. They seem difficult and uncomfortable, so…. they are postponed. And, postponed. Quite often, as a result, meaningful decisions or crucial clarification and direction do not occur. How can we change that?
Our job as manager-leaders is to bring out the best in people. This means accomplishing work through others and at the same time helping them develop into effective contributors. This is the primary responsibility of management. We know there are varying levels of contribution and management-leaders have varying ways of communicating with employees about their performance. This material identifies three levels of communication:
Level 1 – Social & Superficial Exchanges
Level 2 – Serious Intention to Share Meaning
Level 3 – Difficult & Emotion-Charged Exchanges
The skill level involved in being able to be proficient at both Levels 2 and 3 has high impact being an effective manager-leader. Two key components are addressed in this material: (1) Establishing clarity of expectations, and (2) Discussing and resolving missed-expectations.
As leaders, we owe ourselves, our people, and our business ‘to get to the heart of issues’ as soon as possible. That includes the uncomfortable discussions that sometimes accompany less than stellar performance, behavior, or communication. Getting it out in the open in a productive discussion is crucial
Often, the reason the difficult conversations don’t happen is due to lack of know-how. People have not acquired the knowledge and skills to wade into the difficult conversations or to progress towards unity and effectiveness. However, it’s what leaders must do.
Communication is difficult at best. Your success as a manager-leader will be highly impacted by your communication and relationship skills. Your determination to continue to build your communication performance capabilities will enable you to make a greater contribution to your company, your career, your relationships – and yourself.
The Academy of Family Business has the knowledge, curriculum, and coaches to help you develop your communication competencies and effectiveness. To learn more about developing best practices and their application to your business, email us at info@myAFB.org to learn more.