Difficult conversations and Leadership
When you are new to a leadership role, it can feel like a puzzle without the picture. You are trying to understand how all the pieces fit together and where your piece fits in. You want to prove your value, but it takes time to feel your way into the role and understand how all the different pieces contribute to the whole picture.
And then if you see some behaviour from a team member that’s not what you want to see, it can be easier to ignore it rather than tackle it straight away. Nobody likes to have difficult conversations. Particularly if you are new to leadership and looking to build trust and cohesion. Even if you have been in a leadership role for a while, it can be something you put on the back burner for when you have more time (which never happens).
But the longer you leave it, the harder it is to have the conversation. And while you don’t want to be jumping in too soon, if you leave it too long, the team member could be totally surprised that you never raised it before. And that’s when misunderstandings and conflict can occur over something that could have been a much smaller issue if raised earlier.
Clearly communicating to your team your expectations of them is a good starting point for when you need to raise an issue. With structure, evidence, and empathy around the conversation, it needn’t be as difficult as you might think.
It’s natural to avoid something if you are not sure how to approach it and if all you can see is conflict ahead. If you want more insight, email me for some tips on how to approach a difficult conversation, what you need to take into account, and how to avoid escalation where possible.
