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LEANING INTO CHALLENGING
CONVERSATIONSGetting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable
Kelley Ehman – Regina Catholic Schools
@kjehman
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WHY EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP?
• Instructional Leader
• Vision/Mission
• Make a Difference in the lives of kids
• Inspire
• Grow leaders
• Positive Relationships
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CONFLICT RESOLUTION
“Every day of an
administrator’s life is
parent/teacher
conference’.
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WHAT IS A CHALLENGING CONVERSATION?
• “A difficult conversation is anything you find it hard
to talk about”– Sheila Heen
• “The uncomfortable; that which makes you
vulnerable and calls you to courage” – Brene Brown
• “The conversations we put off if we can and stumble
through if we must” – Douglas Stone
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WHAT IS “LEANING IN”?
IT IS NOT
• Sugar coated messages
• Vague/unclear
• Public or private shaming –
top down
• A lecture or ultimatum
IT IS
• Clear purpose with shared
goal
• Straight forward/clear
• Side by Side learning
conversation
• Invitation to problem solve
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CONSIDER A CHALLENGING CONVERSATION
With a Colleague, Parent or School Leader
• Did you initiate the conversation or were you invited into it?
• Now, consider what were your feelings coming out of that challenging
conversation?
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“It’s brutally hard to tell people when they are screwing up.
You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings; that’s because
you’re not a sadist. You don’t want that person or the rest of
the team to think you’re a jerk. Plus, you’ve been told since
you learned to talk, “If you don’t have anything nice to say,
don’t say anything at all.” Now all of a sudden it’s your job
to say it. You’ve got to undo a lifetime of training.
Management is hard.”
― Kim Malone Scott, Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss
Without Losing Your Humanity
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GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE
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WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO ENGAGE IN THE CHALLENGING CONVERSATION?
• We expose emotions – ours and others
• We risk condemnation and judgement
• We weigh the odds – will it go away on its own? Will
it get worse?
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THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DIPLOMATIC HAND GRENADE
Avoidance
• If we avoid, we risk being taken advantage and becoming resentful
as the problem festers
• We rob others of the opportunity to grow and improve
Confrontation
• We may be rejected or attacked
• We may hurt someone in ways we did not intend
• Things become worse and the relationship suffers
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LEANING INTO LEARNING CONVERSATIONS
Good News
• Having a plan will make you
more confident to lean into a
challenging conversation that
will create learning for you and
your team.
• Many times the relationship is
strengthened not destroyed
Bad News
• You will never be completely free
of anxiety and fear but you will
have a game plan.
• It will take practice!
• Note: some conflicts are too great
to be fixed.
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HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE CONVERSATION?
Message Delivery Stance
• Blame and Accusation
• “I’ll show him/her/them who is boss”
• “This is not how we do things – do it my
way”
• Power structure – message is usually
clear but relationship suffers and trust is
eroded.
Learning Stance
• Learning Conversations
• Help me to understand..
• What is it I know? What is it I don’t
know?
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ALL CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS HAVE A COMMON STRUCTURE
• Approach a challenging
conversation from a “learning
stance” instead of a “message
delivery stance”
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ALL DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS ARE REALLY THREE CONVERSATIONS
-STONE, PATTON, HEEN
• The “What Happened” Conversation
• The challenge is more complex than either one sees
• The “Feelings” Conversation
• The situation is emotionally charged
• The “Identity” Conversation
• The situation threatens our identity
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THE “WHAT HAPPENED” CONVERSATION
•Who’s right – truth
•Who meant what – intentions
•Who is responsible - blame
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TO UNDERSTAND A CONVERSATION WE NEED TO HEAR NOT ONLY WHAT IS SAID, BUT ALSO
WHAT IS NOT
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MOVE FROM CERTAINTY TO CURIOSITY
• Accept both stories
• Look deeper for intent- don’t assume we know the
intent
• Don’t play the “blame game” – it only produces
denial and resentment and closes the door on
learning opportunities – instead try and figure out
why things went wrong.
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THE “FEELINGS” CONVERSATION
• As much as we try to avoid
letting our emotions into
conversations, almost all
challenging conversations
are about feelings
• If they are the core of the
conflict, what do you
accomplish if you do not
acknowledge them?
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THE “IDENTITY” CONVERSATION
• Fill in the blank:
• If I know nothing about my self I know I am a ________ person.
• Fill in with 2 or 3 adjectives.
• Now consider the opposites of those adjectives.
• When things go wrong it is because we feel we don’t live up to our own
standards; our self talk is filled with the negative adjectives:
• Eg. Instead of “I am competent, I am incompetent.”
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THE “IDENTITY” CONVERSATION
• Difficult conversations threaten our identity – we are plagued not with
the fear of facing the other person, but the fear of facing ourselves.
• We all grapple with the following identity issues:
• Am I good a person?
Intentions are complex. We are all self serving.
• Am I competent?
You will make mistakes.
• Am I worthy of respect/love?
Take responsibility for your role in the situation; you are committed
only to making things better not “fixing” it.
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CHALLENGING CONVERSATION CHECKLIST
1. Step One: Prepare by Walking Through the Three
Conversations
• Sort out what happened
• Understand emotions
• Ground your identity – what is at stake for you?
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2. Step Two: Check Your Purpose and Decide if You Want to
Raise the Issue
• Is the conflict inside of you? Do you want change because it
is convenient or necessary?
• Is there a better way to address rather than talking?
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3. Step Three: Start from the Third Story
Describe the problem as the difference between your
stories and extend invite to sort out together.
4. Step Four: Explore Their Story and Yours
• Listen, share and reframe
5. Step Five: Problem Solving
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COACHING MODELS
• Coaching models are great
guides to providing you the
roadmap towards a goal
• In cases where the conflict is
too great – direct coaching
may need to be explored –
note this creates a power
imbalance that will impact
the relationship.
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LEADERS LEAN INTO CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS
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IF I AM THE BOSS, CAN’T I JUST DECIDE?
Yes. Make decisions quickly and efficiently but be clear with
your staff about the decision process – conflicts arise when
you are not clear. Not everything requires a learning stance.
“Clear is kind, unclear is unkind” – Brene Brown
• Command – I decide and will tell you.
• Consultation – I will ask for input and then I will decide.
• Collaboration – we will decide together
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EMAIL AND PHONE CONVERSATIONS
• Pitfalls of Email:
• Tone, expression, body language are absent and the message
is out of context
• Question your attributions – don’t assume your interpretation
is accurate
• Press pause – sober second thought before reply and send
• If in doubt, pick up the phone
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WRITTEN RESPONSES
• Be explicit about intent and rationale
• If you do not have time to respond let them know – they will
read into “delays”
• If they ask for more clarification, pick up a phone!
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IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER
• Adopt a learning stance NOT a message delivery
stance
• You cannot change other people; they must change
themselves
• Don’t focus on short term relief at a long term cost
• Don’t sugar coat hand grenades – they have the same
impact
• Don’t hit and run – the “drive by” conversation
• Your responsibility is not to be the best, but to try your
best
• The conflict is not the identity.
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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
• Simon Sinek
• Start with Why
• Leaders Eat Last
• Sheila Heen
• Difficult Conversations
• Kim Scott
• Radical Candor
• Patrick Lencioni
• The Motive
• Brene Brown
• The Gifts of Imperfection
• Daring Greatly
• Rising Strong
• Dare to Lead
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CONSIDER A CHALLENGING CONVERSATION
Consider a conversation waiting for you as you head back to your new
year…
Knowing what you know now about the three conversations (the what, the
feelings, and the identity) and the steps to prepare for that conversation,
rate your comfort level in having that conversation.
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QUESTIONS/SHARING