How do you convince someone to improve their performance when they have been paid – and promoted – for years, for what you consider to be sub-standard performance?
One of the most difficult performance management problems is the one where you have taken over a team where people have not received honest feedback in the past. [...]

‘I can see how this works – but it’s difficult for me. I’m from the old school – it’s either right or it’s wrong. Somebody either performs properly – or you discipline them.’
The speaker was a man in his fifties who was trying hard to get his mind around the idea of Win Win conversations [...]

I’ve been thinking about the week that was and the reactions of participants on my workshops to the Straight Talk process. I’ve been thinking about the patterns of behaviour that I commonly see, and how they affect the ability of people to hold effective conversations that get results and at the same time build better [...]

The majority of people with whom I consult are concerned about the quality of their relationships, either in their personal lives or at work, or both. While they may realise that the conversations they hold reflect the tone of their relationships, they are often unaware of the problems they create for themselves in the way [...]

Are you stuck?
Can’t get your budget approved? Don’t have a clear answer on your next career step? Still waiting for project approval? Key client holding back on the contract decision? Scared you might be on the retrenchment list?
It’s always hard to get the year up and running but this year seems to be one of [...]

It’s fascinating how much one can learn about people and the culture of their organisations by listening to the conversations they hold.
There’s the manager who has been around for a while, knows his job and can see a mistake at ten paces. His conversations are short, sharp and one way. Don’t look to him for [...]

We face difficult conversations every day. They can be with our children, our parents, family members and spouses; with colleagues, employees and with the boss; with friends and neighbors; with tenants, landlords, business partners, and in the sports team. Sometimes these conversations are about the “big” issues of race, religion, gender and politics. More often [...]