Delivering difficult messages is hard but necessary. If challenging conversations are avoided they can have significant consequences for performance levels and relationships.

 

We know from the work that we do with people across all sectors and levels that ‘Honesty Avoidance’ occurs more often than you realise within the workplace. Helping people to hold difficult conversations with candour and honesty is one of our most requested development areas.

 

DCo design a tailored solution to your development requirement. This ensures that we deliver a real change in the behaviour and skills you need to see. Our programmes include a high level of skills practise and feedback to ensure that delegates are comfortable delivering difficult messages for a range of situations at work.

 

When it comes to holding difficult conversations we regularly deliver programmes to develop the ability of leaders and managers to effectively handle underperformance and people management issues. These are some of the most difficult messages that people report making.

 

Our wider staff development in this area supports individuals who need to address challenges and build stronger relationships, those who need to demonstrate assertion and make themselves heard more effectively in different team settings and those who want to influence and provide feedback within their role.

Our Client’s Experience

A recent programme was designed for managers within a technologies company as part of a larger development process to enable them to lead high performing teams. Critical to that management and leadership performance was their ability to role model the demonstration of the company’s vision and values.

To support the demonstration of the company value of ‘Trust and Collaboration’ DCo designed a one day module to provide a practical exploration of management situations where candid conmmunication can be used to build trust and facilitate effective collaborative working.

 

The objectives for this programme are for the managers to:

• Explore the barriers that exist when communication is difficult and be introduced to questioning techniques to increase understanding and clarity

• Understand the positive role that candid feedback has on building trust levels in their team

• Demonstrate their ability to deliver difficult messages that achieve the desired outcomes

• Practise holding coaching conversations to transfer knowledge and improve performance levels