Episode 182 | How to have difficult conversations with your team | Mark Rosenberg
Mark Rosenberg knows that most of us avoid having hard conversations. We all know the consequences of that. Problems aren’t nipped in the bud and then flower into ugly wounds. The good news is that’s all about to change for you!
Mark has a rock-solid process that will help you plan and conduct those hard conversations with skill and confidence. In his new book Mastering Hard Conversations, Mark Rosenberg draws on his extensive experience as an executive coach and mediator to provide leaders with insights and practical tools to improve communication and master hard conversations.
Mark Rosenberg is an executive coach, mediator and facilitator who empowers leaders and their teams to achieve their potential. Mark started his professional career as a lawyer and part-time athlete, before moving into senior management roles in the private and public sector. Mark’s mantra when working with clients is simple: listen, explore, respectfully challenge and support action
Lessons Learned
The process of Mastering Hard Conversations
- Self- reflection : What’s going on for you in the conflict?
- Perspective taking: How was the other person seeing the situation?
- Open questions: What would you like to understand
- Common ground: What do you have in common?
- Anticipating objections: What tough questions and objections do you need to be prepared for?
- Clarifying goals and messages What are your key goals and messages
Mark’s top two tips
Respond rather than react
That might just be a two second difference. The key is to just breathe so that you give yourself that time to respond rather than react to what has been said. Don’t let yourself be triggered!
Just be curious
Recognize that these people who you are talking to are being reasonable. So, your challenge is be curious. To try and understand how is it that they think the way they think and how is it that they think they are being eminently reasonable.
Best quote
“As you progress through your career, you will discover that the
more senior you get, the more challenging conversations come your way. It’s
part of the gig. The good news is that it is relatively easy to improve your
communication and conflict-management skills. You just need the courage to
make a start.”
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