FranklinCovey Launches New Module, Navigating Difficult Conversations

Turn Tension Into Progress - Seite 2

Barbara Cogburn, FranklinCovey Senior Consultant and Navigating Difficult Conversations Content Expert, said, “It’s the emotional reactions that people find most challenging in difficult conversations. These strong reactions often send us into survival mode. And even worrying about how someone will react before the conversation occurs can trigger our survival response. This puts us into a very common mindset of dread and avoidance, which leads people to approach the conversation ineffectively.”

While avoiding difficult conversations may lead to temporary relief, the true underlying issues persist, eventually building into larger problems such as decreased productivity, damaged relationships and team dynamics, misaligned expectations, missed opportunities for growth, a culture of disrespect, and lower overall organizational results.

Learning to effectively address issues and handle difficult conversations is crucial in the workplace, particularly when addressing sensitive or challenging topics. Effectively addressing challenging issues is where meaningful growth happens – both for individuals and organizations. It’s not just about solving immediate problems, but also building a foundation for open and honest communication and continuously improving to achieve better results.

In Navigating Difficult Conversations: Turn Tension Into Progress, learners will discover how to balance Courage and Consideration throughout the conversation by stating their Purpose – the issue they need to make progress on – and Positive Intent - how they want the other person to benefit from the conversation. Sharing these to begin the conversation helps set a clear and collaborative tone from the start, which helps everyone respond effectively to emotional reactions in the moment, so progress can be made.

As emotional reactions are a natural, human response and are a signal that the conversation needs an adjustment to say on track, participants will learn and practice three skills for responding to reactions:

• Pause. Don’t panic.
• Observe. Don’t judge.
• Ask. Don’t assume.

Cogburn said, “Participants will learn and practice tactical skills they can apply in the moment to help everyone stay productively engaged in the conversation. They will feel more confident and prepared to conduct difficult conversations, no matter the topic. And their ability to engage in collaborative problem solving will alleviate issues, long before they grow larger and more costly.”