ABSTRACT

Any manager knows how difficult it can be to have an effective conversation with an employee about sensitive performance issues. Barriers to listening automatically spring up. Defensiveness can go through the roof. After such a conversation, employees can feel mistrusted and harassed while managers can feel that the message just didn’t get through. When such conversations go off the rails, the damage can poison a workplace and hurt business results. Consequently, too many managers back off from these conversations. They may think, “Sure, I should deal with that issue, but it just isn’t worth the risk.” They learn to look the other way. Avoidance has never been a pathway to business or personal excellence, but we do it every day.