Whether you are in a leadership role or not, from time to time we all have to gear up and have those courageous conversations – the ones that we tend to avoid.  And therein lies the trouble.  The more we avoid these, the bigger the issue gets or the more it festers. As one senior leader put it, “if something isn’t feeling right, nine times out of ten, it isn’t!”  And this means some conversation needs to take place –whatever the scenario and whoever your situation is with.

We all have different “brakes’ that we put on. This stops us from tackling what needs to be tackled.  Some examples of thinking that get in the way include – “I will destroy the existing harmony” (what harmony?  The current “walk on egg-shells” variety? ) or “if I ignore it, it will just go away” (with denial, the issue rarely just disappears) or genuinely not having the skills or confidence to deal with it ( These can be learnt).  Continue reading →