Think Like A Detective<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Stay open-minded by taking the approach of \u201cinvestigate rather than assume<\/strong>\u201d. When you are able to shift your mindset, you may uncover valuable information you otherwise might have overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frequent manager-employee touch points create an environment for critical conversations<\/strong> to happen more naturally. Regular one-on-one meetings (we prefer weekly) where candor and feedback are welcome can help alleviate some of the pressure around critical conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critical conversations are a chance to connect with your employee<\/strong>. The goal is to understand what has led to where you are and then develop a plan to move forward together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day, we know critical feedback matters. Without it, we won\u2019t be making progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When managers see a gap between where employees are and where they aspire to be, it\u2019s our responsibility to close that gap. We do our team members a disservice when we aren\u2019t willing to have a conversation that matters \u2013 even when it makes us uncomfortable to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you put off courageous candor in the workplace, you risk:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do our team members a disservice when we aren\u2019t willing to have a conversation that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Put In The Prep Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact Check<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Location, Location, Location<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Timing Is Everything<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s true that actions speak louder than words, words still carry a lot of weight. In a moment of candor, being mindful of your word choice can make all the difference in maintaining the connection with your employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one likes to be spoken down to. Avoid words such as \u201cclearly\u201d or phrases like \u201cit\u2019s no surprise that\u201d as they imply incompetence on the part of the employee<\/strong> and give no room for them to express a view contrary to yours.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n More often than not, when you bring \u201cshould\u201d into the sentence, you are the one dictating the expected behavior or outcome<\/strong> from another. Remember, the goal is to connect and collaborate to identify a solution. \u201cHave you thought about X\u201d gets much further than, \u201cYou should do X\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n When you label an employee or their work as \u201cbad,\u201d you\u2019ve just put a huge gap between the two of you, essentially severing any connection you have. Feedback should be FOR a person not ABOUT a person<\/strong>. Remember to remain objective, sticking to the facts rather than assaulting their character and integrity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Even if it seems that this employee is always or never doing something, making a bold, sweeping generalization won\u2019t get you very far. Remember to remain as objective as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n I messages are a way to help ensure we are not shaming and blaming<\/strong> by saying things like \u201cyou are doing XYZ wrong!\u201d. We like to utilize phrases such as \u201cI have noticed,\u201d \u201cI feel,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m wondering.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Approach conversations with curiosity. Asking questions can help you uncover hidden contributing factors<\/strong> to struggles your employee might be facing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Apologize when you should. There are times that our behaviors, as managers, may have contributed to a problem. Own it when it\u2019s yours and be humble<\/strong>. This can foster trust and connection even further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n At the end of a moment of courageous candor, both parties can feel a bit weighed down. Expressing authentic gratitude for the other party\u2019s willingness to discuss<\/strong> can go a long way. Rather than a generic \u201cthanks for being willing to talk today,\u201d go for something specific, encouraging, and relevant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n At SecureDB, we believe it\u2019s best to approach one another with empathy and connection in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The age-old clich\u00e9 holds true during moments of courageous candor\u2013 it\u2019s far better to be honest. There is no reason to be brutal, simply strive to be genuine, authentic, and straightforward. With tact and consideration for the other person, be up front in addressing your concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of assuming you hold all relevant information surrounding a circumstance, be curious and open-minded to uncover potential factors you might have overlooked. Hear your employees out while assuming best intent. Who knows? You may find there was more to the story than you originally thought!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once both parties have had the chance to share, it\u2019s time to collaboratively discuss the next steps. Think about the actions we can take to ensure we move toward an intended outcome or goal. Be specific and realistic in planning next steps, accountabilities, deliverables. Plan the next touchpoint where you will be discussing progress. Document your plan in a place where both can easily access and review what was discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve made a plan with your employee. You know the next steps. It\u2019s time to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the hustle and bustle of our day to day we can easily lose sight of our goals. That\u2019s why we elevate the weekly one-on-one meeting between managers and employees \u2013 because it is a dedicated time for checking in. When the time is already blocked on the calendar, you\u2019re able to free up a little \u201cmental space\u201d because you know there\u2019s time set aside for evaluating your progress and concerns. We encourage these one-on-ones to be at the same time, on the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be easy as a manager to only focus on what your employee needs to do to improve, however, we both play a role in progress. Ensure any action items assigned to you are completed and that you commit to circling back to check on progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes we walk away from a candid conversation feeling like we totally nailed it. Other times we\u2019re only out the door for 5 minutes before we have a list a mile long of all the things we wish we would have said or done. Just because the moment is over doesn\u2019t mean the conversation is. If you realize there were things left unsaid, it\u2019s okay to address remaining concerns. When you begin to build a culture of consistent courageous candor, it becomes natural and easy to readdress an area of concern after the meeting has ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t know what we don\u2019t know \u2013 and that holds true for our best attempts at creating a game plan following our critical conversations. The best laid plans can be foiled at any time or another situation comes up that changes things. Review what has and hasn\u2019t worked and make changes accordingly \u2013 sticking to specific, measurable goals (we like SMART goals<\/a>!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We get it. No one really enjoys tough conversations \u2013 okay, maybe some people do, but many would rather avoid them at all costs. That may be a non-issue when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17629,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_helpful_status":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[108,26,32,47],"class_list":["post-17618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ideas","tag-checkins","tag-feedback","tag-meetings","tag-reviews"],"wps_subtitle":"Critical conversations don\u2019t have to be difficult with a little practice around courageous candor.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17618"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17638,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17618\/revisions\/17638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Set The Stage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration Is The Goal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Let’s Get Started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
Nuts & Bolts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/empathy.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWords Matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Steer clear from: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/obviously.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/should.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/bad.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/always.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nEmbrace:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/i-messages.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/questions.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/apologize.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/thank-you.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nEmpathy & Connection <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Honesty is the best policy.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Seek to understand.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Come together.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Empathy & Connection in Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Check in consistently & often.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hold up your end of the agreement.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keep the conversation going.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Re-evaluate & adjust as needed.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/securedb.io\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/started.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"