It’s human nature to avoid ‘difficult’ conversations. But when those conversations are not taking place within organisations, workplace safety and productivity can be compromised. In fact, the hidden cost of avoiding important issues is often greater. This Thought Leadership piece outlines how to have those tough conversations, and the benefits for organisations, leaders and workers prepared to do so.
Whether you call them difficult, challenging or ‘courageous’ conversations, we often avoid them because we’re concerned about our ability to handle the discussion or about hurting other people. Avoiding these conversations, however, can let poor performance continue unchecked “until it gets really bad”, or makes workers reluctant to raise safety issues that could have prevented an incident.
Conversely, being prepared to have these conversations can bring many benefits to organisations. Productivity and workplace safety challenges, for example, are continually identified and addressed quickly. Over time, having difficult conversations becomes easier and people become more skilled at them. It becomes part of the organisation’s culture, giving workers confidence that they can highlight issues without fear of repercussion, and that issues raised will be addressed.
Download the full Thought Leadership piece below.
Read our Blog on Courageous Conversations here.
