Putting away a conversation with someone (manager, colleague, direct report or even a client) because it is difficult, can be severely damaging.

Research proves that having difficult conversations results in engaged employees, retaining talent, innovation and increased well-being.

Giving feedback is a typical example of a difficult conversation at the workplace.

I have noticed how this ‘tough job’ is poorly dealt with, at times never brought up and often relegated to HR.

Here are 7 steps to do it well:

1. Be timely – Don’t wait for too long, nip it in the bud!
2. Contextualize it – Spell out the situation in question where you noticed something amiss, and clarify why this is important and is being brought up.
3. Behavior – State the specific behaviour that caused an impediment
4. Impact – How has that impacted you, the team, and the business; be factual not threatening
5. Explore solutions – Ideally draw the solutions from them through skillful questioning.
6. Get commitment – Finalize a solution and seek commitment to an action.
7. Check-in – Keep a tab on how things are progressing

Facilitating a day’s workshop on ‘handling difficult conversations’ for one of the largest estate developers in UAE was fascinating.

The day was filled with interesting case studies, role-plays, assessment tools and skill-building activities.

Every participant felt engaged and witnessed an internal shift from

‘Can I really do it?’ to ‘Yes I Can’!