A Leader's Guide to Having Difficult Conversations

Sales Leadership Awakening

In this episode of the Sales Leadership Awakening Podcast, host Steven Rosen and Colleen Stanley delve into mastering difficult conversations, stressing preparation and agreement on the next steps. They highlight vital emotional intelligence skills essential for navigating these dialogues effectively. Practical strategies for delivering constructive feedback and fostering growth are shared, emphasizing the importance of stating intentions and fostering psychological safety.

“If this is an important discussion that we want to help someone get better on our team, taking the time to think it through, to prepare what you want to say, how you want to say it, if you have a coach or if you have a colleague that you can role play it through and see how it sounds, you’re going to get much better results.” - Steven Rosen

Key Takeaways:

• Preparation is vital to having successful, difficult conversations. Thinking through what you want to say and how you want to say it can lead to better outcomes.
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• Emotional regulation is an essential skill for sales managers to develop. Managing your emotions during difficult conversations can help prevent them from escalating into arguments.
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• Empathy is crucial in difficult conversations. Understanding and acknowledging the other person’s thoughts and feelings can help create a more productive and respectful dialogue.
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• Stating intentions before giving feedback can help create psychological safety and ensure the feedback is received constructively.
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• Focusing on feedback and coaching when onboarding new employees can set the expectation that difficult conversations are a normal part of the company culture.

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