Straight Talk

The quality of our relationships, both at work and in other areas of our lives, is defined by the quality of our conversations. Every manager knows what difficult conversations feel like: with employees who consistently underperform, with senior managers who give destructive feedback, or with toxic colleagues whose behaviour poisons the workplace. They also know that when they delay or avoid these conversations, allowing frustration and anger to build up, they may find themselves facing emotional outbursts in which accusation and blame replace calm thinking and clear dialogue. When difficult conversations are handled poorly, relationships, careers and even the success of a business can be badly compromised. Straight Talk explains a step-by-step process that managers can use to plan conversations in which they feel safe to talk to almost anyone about almost anything. The book includes extensive examples and detailed dialogue for a range of recognisable, real conversations. Using the process, managers will find that they can plan and hold conversations that never seemed possible, and that they will be able to reach agreement on changes in behaviour they never thought probable. Based on the author’s practical experience, and developed and field-tested with several thousand managers at various levels and in all sectors of industry, this is a process that works. No manager can afford to do without it.