Last time I wrote about the differing perceptions that lead to difficult conversations in the work place and today I'm going to write about the overall topic as a whole. Difficult conversations happen in any organization and I learned that it is crucial to have the tools in order to have these talks the in the correct and appropriate fashion. These type of conversations can occur for many reasons, some being the lack of background on the other individuals role in the organization or a common belief that one is right and the other is wrong. During this class I learned a few different techniques that could really help these conversations become easier to have.
The first method I learned about was creating a calm environment for everyone to be comfortable with and have the ability to voice any concerns that they might have. Before this class I would have thought that this would make no difference, but in reality a comfortable setting is crucial in having an effective conversation. Personally, I have had difficult conversations with my manager and I wouldn't want it to be in an environment that someone could overhear us or distract us from the topic at hand. The brain is wired to detect different noises and have the ability to differentiate them. Unfortunately in this situation the brain doesn't have the capability of having an effective conversation with a lot of background noise going on as well. In my opinion, going into an office with all technology turned off would be the best environment to have a difficult conversation in.
The environment isn't the only factor that could make or break a difficult conversation. The way you present yourself, and the tone of voice are variables that could effect these conversations as well. If an individual has a stern face and their arms crossed, than it could make the other person uncomfortable. To correct this, I would always try to make myself as approachable as possible and create trust that I will listen to any topic that is being presented to me. An effective manager cannot have a difficult conversation with an employee if he's not trusted to listen or looks like he doesn't care. Also I believe that a person's tone of voice could really effect a difficult conversation. No one that I know wants to talk to someone that constantly shows that their smarter than them or comes off as hard to converse with. Personally, I have lost friendships due to someone's "demeanor" and overall tone of voice.
I presented my topic yesterday in class on listening to people in the workplace. When I researched this I was shocked at how similar these two subjects are to one another. I will share what my ideas were on listening in my next blog post.
definitely overlap between the topics. As I've said before, almost every senior leader I talk to talks about the importance of being a good listener. We often romanticize leadership as being about decision making and making great speeches, but most of leadership in my experience is being present and listening. It's also about making decisions and great speeches, but that's just the tip of the iceberg - the part we see.
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