Time to read: 54 seconds
Welcome back to the next installment of Difficult Conversations. If you missed the first part of this story, you'll find last week's newsletter on my website here.
We left our poor manager and employee hanging. The hard message was delivered, the manager shut her mouth, now what?
- Give the person back their power. The easiest way to do that is to ask them what they need next. Once someone has heard… "You're not getting a raise," "I'm no longer paying your rent", or "We're going to the cabin for Christmas, on our own", the other person can't hear a thing. So, you say, "Do you need a minute?" or "Would you like to go home for the rest of the day? We can continue this conversation later." Then let them go. Or continue if that's what they choose. The important thing is to offer them autonomy and choice.
- Set a time to talk again so it's not hanging out there.
- Finish the feedback, share your plans, explain your reasoning (now or later).
- End the conversation with positivity and appreciation, "I know this was hard. Thank you for sticking with it." "I really appreciate that we could have this conversation." "Thank you for understanding."
Someone asked, "What do you do when people don't hear you?" That's next week.
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