3 Ways To Make Tough Conversations Easier

Tough-love conversations are necessary for shifting unproductive behavior and maintaining a positive, high-performance atmosphere within your organization. A lot of data suggests, however, that most managers and executives avoid difficult conversations most of the time. I bet this isn’t surprising to you. I’m sure you can think of at least one conversation you or one of your key employees needs to have that hasn’t taken place yet.

Here are three ways to make having tough conversations easier for impactful results and a high-performance culture within your organization.

☝️ (By the way, these concepts don’t just apply to your work relationships. The same holds true for your personal relationships as well. It took me 5 years to finally have a conversation with a family member that took less than 5 minutes to complete. Not only did our relationship shift to more openness and honesty after the conversation, but I felt like I lost 15 pounds of frustration and resentment I had been carrying for years! Now, that’s a weight-loss strategy that can work for anyone!)

1. Start At The Bottom Of The Emotional Intelligence Ladder And Work Your Way Up.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is made up of four linear pillars. We first need to know ourselves (self-awareness, EQ pillar 1) so that we can manage ourselves (self-management, EQ pillar 2). Only when we know and manage ourselves, can we understand and empathize with others (others awareness, EQ pillar 3). And only once we’ve mastered the first three pillars of EQ, can we begin to influence others and effectively manage conflict and tough-love conversations (relationship management, EQ pillar 4).

This is trickier to do than it sounds because data has shown that the majority of us think we are self-aware, whereas, in reality, only a small percentage of us actually are. If we don’t uncover our blind spots and recognize our areas for growth and stronger self-awareness, we will stay stuck in pillar one of emotional intelligence thinking we are being effective leaders, whereas, in actuality, we are not.

Click HERE for 2 more ways to bring ease to life’s tough conversations – from my most recent article in Brainz Magazine