How to Handle the Tough Conversation You're Avoiding

Is there a tough conversation you're avoiding?

Try using Compassion ❤️ , Common Goals 🤝 and Context 🔍 before you make your desired ask.

- ❤️ Compassion :: Begin by acknowledging the other person's experience. What are they feeling, and what challenges are they facing?

- 🤝 Common Goals :: Affirm your shared objectives. What are both of you trying to achieve, or what situation would be a win for both of you?

- 🔍 Context :: Share information that might be missing from their perspective, which could influence their decisions in alignment with your common goals. This is the crux of the conversation. You're giving the them the benefit of the doubt, assuming that if they had this information, they may make a different decision.

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What does this sound like?

Consider an employee this is being constantly interrupted by their manager and can't get work done. A conversation between the employee and the manager might sound like this:

"Hey manager, (cue Compassion ❤️) I know there's a lot going on right now and my guess is you're feeling a lot of pressure to make things happen. (Cue Common Goals 🤝) I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to help you achieve our team's quarterly goals. (Cue Context 🔍) I'm struggling to make progress on the work assigned to me due to the amount of requests coming in throughout the day, and am nervous I won't be able to deliver on my part of our team's goals. (And cue your ask) If I could be offline and do heads down work for the first three hours of the day, I'm confident I could crush my portion of our quarterly goal. Would you be open to discussing that?"

For my part as a manager, I'd 100% approve this request, both for the value it creates, and the respectful approach.

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What conversation are you avoiding? If you need help with an approach, please reach out. I'd love to give you confidence with Compassion ❤️ , Common Goals 🤝 and Context 🔍 and make the conversation happen this week!

If you’re ready to take a next step to lock in your time habits take a look at a 6-Week Time Boss Coaching Cohort or self-paced Peaceful Progress digital course.