Courageous Conversations
Posted on August 09, 2012 by Christine McIver, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.
How having Courageous Conversations can and will change our business lives.
Courageous Conversations…
Managers across the board have at one time or another known they needed to have “that” conversation and most have tried to avoid it at every cost. General management philosophy is that we the managers are responsible for the employees’ behaviours. If things are not working we have to fix them. The trouble with that is you can’t make someone do something they are not interested in doing.
Superior leadership is about inspiring others, supporting and guiding them to success, not forcing a strong upper hand. How would it feel to believe in your employee and give them the choice about what they want? When we see employees capabilities first and their negatives choices second we actually empower them. Managers should focus on accountability to the agreed and upon expectations not the choices the employees ultimately make.
If you hire someone for a position, give them the full details of their role and support their learning, and then if they choose to take action outside of that framework that is their decision. Your role is very clear, let them know where they have gone off the path, always be clear and upfront quickly and then if they choose to continue to stay off the path, they have made that choice not you. Too many managers hold off being honest and upfront, hold all the tension and ultimately keep someone in a role that is not a good fit. Employees are smart; they know when something is wrong. Believe in the person and let them know that you want them in the role but they need to choose. Doing this you may just make an average employee into a great one.
Christine McIver, ILC
Inspired Choices Inc
