Does this sound familiar?
-
Do you struggle to work with an unreliable or emotional teammate?
-
Are you a project manager who can't get the team to deliver what was agreed?
-
Do you feel less like a team leader and more like a parent or therapist?
-
Does your boss need some feedback but you don't know how to approach the conversation?
What's missing?
If you’ve had bad experiences when trying to have a difficult conversation and it’s something you now dread or just avoid, you are not alone. If it makes you feel any better, when I first started managing others in my twenties, I took one colleague out for lunch four times in one week before I managed to have 'the conversation'. What finally pushed me to speak was the growing cost of the lunches, rather than the fear of the conversation! While I have clients who got straight to the point but ended up being perceived as 'the one with the problem'.
The crazy thing is if you Google ‘how to manage a difficult conversation’ or 'how to give constructive feedback', there are thousands of articles offering tips and techniques. So why is it still so unpredictable and stressful? Part of the problem is the way we approach these types of conversations, we focus on rational arguments, but people aren’t just rational, they are emotional too, including you!
What if I told you that there is a way to drive difficult or sensitive conversations that will be taken on board by the other person, and more than that, build trust and increase cooperation going forward? But it’s probably the complete opposite of what you are currently doing it.
Avoiding these conversations can damage your career
Avoiding difficult conversations at work can impact you in several ways.
It will drain you of vital energy that you need for your job, as you endlessly revisit old conversations in your head. Left to fester, it will impact your mental, emotional and physical health, and ultimately impact your performance.
Your team notices when you avoid or mismanage difficult conversations. This will likely undermine their trust in you and make them think twice before having honest conversations with you.
It doesn’t help your career prospects because (good) leaders notice when you don't manage difficult conversations well. They might not know what you are doing, but they will notice how people feel and behave around you.
It doesn’t help your colleague who's causing you angst because it doesn’t give them the necessary awareness to shift their behaviour.
So, join me, in a small group, to learn how to ace difficult conversations in a safe space, that will improve the performance and outcomes of your team, it will have a positive impact on your work relationships and career, and safeguard your health.
You'll have the skills!
Based on what my clients tell me about their work transformations, you'll feel confident to:
-
end ongoing friction and stalemate with a colleague or team
-
remain calm under stress
-
stop worrying about what to say or what might happen, and spend more time building healthy co-operation
-
get useful feedback on how you can shift your way of working with others
-
give constructive feedback that will be taken on board
-
get more of the right work done through others, even juniors
-
increase team productivity and creativity
-
create win-win outcomes
-
increase clarity on expectations
-
and, hey, you'll be comfortable asking for that pay rise or promotion!
The programme in detail
Your personal Harrison Assessment
Before the programme starts, I'll invite you to take a behaviour assessment, called the Harrison Assessment. This 20-page report will identify your natural strengths and where you might need some support when hosting difficult conversations. We will have a private debrief on your report lasting 90 minutes. This alone is deeply insightful and I use it with all my professional clients. (Value EUR 395).
Based on your report, I'll tailor our weekly workshops to incorporate your specific needs.
4 weeks of workshops
During this live four-week group programme of maximum eight people, you'll learn the building blocks to acing difficult conversations, from the preparation before the conversation, all the way through to managing follow-up conversations. You'll practice each part of the process in a safe and confidential space in a small group. (Value EUR 600)
Video replays
I'll share a video of each session on a secure private platform for you to rewatch or to catch up if you were unable to attend. As the sessions involve discussion and practice, it's preferable that you are present at all the sessions.
Weekly exercises
After each workshop, you'll be encouraged to practice what you have learned. I'll be creating space at the start of the following week's session to discuss how it went for you, and what you noticed. Working in a group is a great way to open you up to fresh perspectives on old problems, and helps you see that you are not alone.
One-on-one coaching
I will be on hand to have weekly one-on-one calls for 30 mins to discuss your progress, any problems, or answer questions you might have. This will also help me tweak the programme as we go, to ensure you have everything you need to ace difficult conversations after four weeks. (Value EUR 400)
Templates and cheatsheets
Alongside your weekly workbook, you will receive templates, checklists and cheat sheets that will help you prepare, drive and ace difficult conversations going forward. (Value EUR 250)
Post programme support
Research shows that new habits take time to stick, so while the four-week programme will give you the necessary tools and practice, I'm including up to four one-on-one coaching calls with you during the first two months after the programme, to coach you through your real-life difficult conversations. (Value EUR 800)
Total value EUR 2,545
At the end of the programme you will know how to approach a difficult conversation the right way. You'll know what to say that creates trust and respect. You'll also know what to avoid saying or doing that will create a negative reaction, and most importantly you'll feel confident to drive a variety of people+performance-related conversations.
The package
4 weeks to ace difficult conversations
-
A Harrison Assessment report and one-on-one debrief (90 mins private session)
-
4 weekly live online group training and practice session to learn the core techniques hosting difficult conversations that work (80-90 mins)
-
A weekly workbook detailing everything we learn and practice in the session
-
Conversation preparation check-list
-
Difficult conversation templates
-
Great questions cheat sheet
-
A video recording of each session to revisit the material or catch up if you were unable to attend
-
30 minutes one-on-one coaching each week during the programme to discuss challenges or to double-check understanding
-
4 ad-hoc one-on-one coaching calls during two months after the programme finishes
Group: maximum 8 people
Price EUR 1250
plus VAT
Early bird price paid before
20 March 2022
EUR 995
plus VAT
