Conversations at work, at times, are tricky. Sometimes they can land you in serious trouble, jeopardising all that you have accomplished thus far.
These conversations could relate to the dreaded performance reviews, optimal sizing of units or divisions, promotions, unilateral decisions getting communicated, firing someone, mergers and acquisitions leading to downsizing, one on one conversations with your notorious boss, office politics, exit interviews, the list is endless. Many of these leave you sleepless, full of stress and bearing the brunt of undesired consequences.
Welcome to the VUCA world. A world full of Volatality, Uncertainity, Complexity and Ambiguity. If the earlier generation knew and understood why certain things happened and did not happen at a slower rate, the current generation faces challenges and changes at the speed of light leaving them no time to fathom “why” and they end up just facing the music.
Personally, I did face such challenges in my career and business. Informing bankers and financiers that we cannot return their money or interest, telling my boss directly that his assessment of my work was way off the mark, refusing my boss politely but firmly that I will not agree to a change in my role, being in the collateral damage in the fight between two international leaders of the consulting firm, disagreeing with a celebrity CEO of a glocal firm on his strategic views of a firm where he was a board member….a fairly long list.
Did my views prevail or succeed in all these situations leading to favourable outcomes? Most times yes but many times not. Except in exceptional circumstances, you can do your homework and prepare for your conversations so that you can swing the decisions in your favour. Preparation, practice, patience, persistence..all help. The learning that you would have from such conversations and experiences are invaluable.
Am sharing the link to an article that provides insights into managing difficult conversations at work. Please do read.
The Work Conversations We Dread the Most, According to Research
