Newsletter 15 - Delivering difficult messages

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One of the hardest things for a new manager to do is to say something disappointing to individuals or their team. Here are some ideas on how to handle that difficult conversation, and there is more help on the members pages.

What are the most difficult messages? Managers identify these:

giving feedback on underperformance
'there are no promotions this year'
'there is no bonus this year'
tackling a "hygiene" issue - body odour or dress style
confronting unacceptable behaviour.

A good manager faces up to the difficulty of giving these messages.

The four things that people need and value are:

to know exactly what's going on
to be told in good time
to have their feelings acknowledged
to think about next steps.

It's important for you to stay calm and face the conversation with courage and clarity. Give people time to take in the message and to ask questions.

December 2009

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