We had the pleasure of having Nikki Allen (MBACP) join us at one of our recent Pabasso meetings to talk to our MD and CEO members about 'Having Difficult Conversations' - an invaluable tool for business leaders and indeed all Management.

As Nikki Allen purported, 'People think conflict is caused by confrontation, but often it's caused by AVOIDING confrontation!'

The reality is that all business leaders, from time to time, need to have difficult conversations with employees, customers, suppliers, etc., and whilst it can be uncomfortable, it must be done - and done in a timely, professional way.

Sure, we can all either ignore the challenge and hope it will go away, or wing it and hope for the desired outcome - neither of these is a good strategy.

Firstly, the challenges we face that require difficult conversations rarely go away; they fester and become bigger problems down the line.

Secondly, if we approach these difficult conversations without any planning or preparation, we are likely to perpetuate the problem rather than address it in a constructive way.

But like so many of the challenges faced by business leaders, having difficult conversations is never easy, but it can be easier if these conversations take place as soon as possible after the challenge is identified, and some preparation and planning take place.

The military says 'Never Walk Past Bad Behaviour', other mantras include: 'Face The Issues', 'The Standard You Walk Past Is The Standard You Set', etc., etc.

Nikki Allen provided us all with some very useful tips on how to handle difficult conversations, some of which were reminders of what we already knew, and some were new to us all.

If you ever need someone to talk to your management team on this subject, Nikki Allen is a great place to start.

If this resonates with you and you would like to find out more about the value MDs and CEOs of Yorkshire-based SMEs get from being part of Pabasso, then please drop me a note at rad@pabasso.com, and we can arrange a confidential chat to see if we can help you achieve your goals.

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