Having a conversation with a work colleague or boss about a tricky or sensitive subject can be difficult.
All the more reason to prepare fully to give yourself the best possible chance of a successful outcome. To prepare yourself use the following questions:
1. First ask What I want and what I don’t want question. For example what I want is John to be more reliable and deliver on his commitments on time and what I don’t want is to have a useless and heated conversation that doesn’t lead to any actions.
2. Second what do you want for yourself, the other person and importantly the relationship? For example I want to stop wasting my time chasing John, I want him to take responsibility for delivering his work on time and I want a professional and productive relationship going forward.
3. Third ask yourself what’s in it for the other person? This can be difficult but if there is a clear benefit to the other person they are more likely to listen to you. For example the benefit to John will be xxxxxx
4. The last question to ask is do I respect this person and how will I demonstrate respect? You may not particularly like the other person, you think they are lazy, over paid…..This is an important point because if left unchecked your thoughts and feelings will drive your actions. You don’t have to like them to respect them.