Coaching Judgement

Difficult conversations

A new employee in the team a few years in full time work shared with me his concerns about having difficult conversations. He said he is not looking forward to the conversations I have to have with various customers. I was curious as to why, he said they are really difficult you are sharing information with the customer, they really don’t want to hear.

difficult conversations v2

I asked how did the customer respond when I delivered the news around the real challenges not perceived challenges by the customer in a customer meeting a few days prior to the catch up. He responded the customer was really appreciative of you sharing your insights.

Trust is built when we share insights and information that the recipient has not considered.

My belief is that I have a duty of care to provide information that has not been previously considered, so better outcomes can be achieved.

The new employees perception and beliefs play a big part on the approach. He felt very uncomfortable with the information being delivered, he saw it as challenging. The frame of reference for him was delivering bad news, mine was delivering important information to help them be successful.

The same is true when we have performance issues with employees. When we approach it in the frame of mind, I want to help and ensure success, as opposed to you have let me down, your message lands in a supportive as opposed to judgmental way.

What is you intention when approaching a difficult conversation?

Is the intention one of support and advice? If yes go ahead, if no, rethink your own intentions and take the time to approach at a time when you are in a better mind set to have the conversation.


8 steps for dealing effectively with unacceptable employee behaviour in the workplace

8 steps for dealing effectively with unacceptable employee behaviour in the workplace

Conduct is challenging to deal with in the workplace, here are some of the top tips to deal with unacceptable employee behaviour:

  1. Deal with incidents within 24 hoursemployee behaviour
  2. Keep your cool. If you are struggling to stay calm, walk away and come back when you are calm.
  3. Be clear on the consequences with the employee of repeat offences verbally and in writing
  4. Document investigation(have a witness present)
  5. Create a conduct framework for what is expected. Use as working document, so it is evolving as the team evolve
  6. Use the core values to support  discussion regarding desired behaviour
  7. Make it safe for others to come forward
  8. Don’t confuse conduct with performance. Conduct is for someone who has no will and no skill, Performance is for someone with will and no skill.

Managers that fail to act on poor conduct, will lose respect of the team. People don’t leave businesses they leave managers.

Are you dealing effectively with unacceptable employee behaviour in the workplace?