A forward looking way to deal with difficult conversations in your leadership team … 

Read more thoughts on the art of communicating week-daily at https://michaelgerharz.com/blog

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New book

Welcome back to

“Irresistible Communication”.

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Two minutes, twice a week.

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No nonsense advice on

leadership communication.

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The sales director thought the COO was

a coward while the COO thought that the

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sales director was risking the business.

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And that's a common situation

when opinions clash on an

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issue we deeply care about.

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The instinct when we face such a conflict

is to ask: “What's wrong with them?

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Can't they just open their eyes?

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It's so obvious.” But then again,

it makes kind of sense, considering

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that these people care deeply.

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They have thought it through.

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And they have very good

reasons for their take.

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And yet, this instinct leads

you down a path of blame and

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ultimately into a deadlock.

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And yet, this instinct leads you down

a path of blame and ultimately, into a

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deadlock because of course the others

are thinking the same about you.

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Actually, it's quite likely that

there are excellent reasons on

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either side of the argument.

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That's why, in situations like these,

I suggest a different perspective.

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The choices you make going out of

conversations like these help our

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team define who we want to be.

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Given that there's no clear right

and wrong answer, anyway, it's

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an opportunity to define what

kind of ride is right for us.

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What kind of wrong are

we not willing to take.

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So, it's not so much about who is right,

because in a way, both likely are right.

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It's about who we want to be

and which path is right for

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us heading into the future.

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The easy way out might be to

sidestep these issues, hoping

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they'll resolve themselves.

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But more often than not, this leads

to even deeper problems down the road.

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If you're the leader, it's way more

important to face these conflicts straight

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on as these conflicts are precisely

the kind of conversations that lead

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you and your team to your true core

and fill your journey with meaning.

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Keep lighting the path and

share this with a friend.