Mastering Challenging Management Conversations

Complete Seminar Details

Step-up conversation skills to deliver difficult and challenging messages.

Put an end to sweaty palms, sleepless nights, racing heartbeats. Stop putting it off or looking for a way out. Now you can conduct those challenging conversations with tact and confidence! Address sensitive personal issues, confront performance liabilities, persuade key players to support your ideas, disagree without sounding judgmental...and more. The secret: advanced planning, style flexing and one-on-one conversation skills. The payoff: be seen as a strong and decisive manager who can face tough issues, improve relationships and achieve results.

Who Should Attend

Team leaders, managers, directors, vice presidents and others with direct reports who need to successfully conduct difficult or challenging conversations.

How You Will Benefit

• Identify strategies for hurdling challenging conversations
• Project clarity, confidence and assuredness during difficult conversations
• Flex your communication style to improve rapport and results
• Exhibit empathy while maintaining a leader's demeanor
• Use planning skills to achieve a specific desired result of your conversation
• Motivate others to high performance and sustain positive workplace attitudes
• Gain support from senior management in implementing change or initiatives

What You Will Cover

• The fundamentals of business conversations
• Emotional intelligence: controlling emotions, avoiding defensiveness
• Overcoming resistance to, or avoidance of, difficult conversations
• Planning and conducting difficult conversations: hygiene and personal behavior, discipline and poor attitude, unacceptable performance, downsizing, change or layoffs
• Gaining skills in five key performance conversations
• Conversing with senior management and the boss: focusing on their needs, gaining credibility, expressing disagreements

Extended Description

Learning Objectives

• Recognize Different Communication Style Preferences and Flex Your Personal Conversation Style to Build and Enhance Rapport, Clarity, and Shared Action with Others
• Apply Emotional Intelligence in Planning and Conducting Effective Conversations That Address Difficult Topics and Sensitive Issues
• Identify Common Types of Challenging Interactions and Effective Conversation Approaches That Will Allow You to Confidently Engage (versus Avoid) Difficult Interactions at Work
• Employ Conversation Strategies to Gain Attention and Support from Senior Management in Order to Implement New Processes or Better Resource Present Initiatives
• Apple Core and Advanced Conversation Skills to Effectively Plan Challenging Interactions That Will Achieve Desired Results

Core and Step-up Conversation Skills

• Create Messages That Speak to Your Conversation Partner’s Performance Responsibilities in Order to Gain and Hold Their Attention
• Design a Conversation Goal That Focuses on Results to Keep Your Interaction on Track
• Apply the Language Sorter Tool in Order to Avoid Barriers in Creating Clear and Concise Messages
• Flex Communication Style Preferences to Create More Open and Compatible Communication in Difficult Situations
• Execute the Four Skill Areas That Comprise Emotional Intelligence in Order to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills
• Apply the Four Steps to Emotional Control to Act Confidently When Handling Challenging Conversations
• Integrate Listening for Intent versus Listening for Content in Order to Gain Pertinent Knowledge About Your Conversation Partner

Managing Difficult and Sensitive Conversations

• Define What Makes Some Conversations Difficult and Identify Strategies to Address Potential Barriers
• Plan and Apply Approaches for Successfully Conducting Difficult and Sensitive Conversations By Applying New Conversation Tools and Strategies

Leading with Performance Management Conversations

• Investigate and Practice Strategies for Handling Challenging Performance Conversations
• Identify Performance Conversation Areas Needing Improvement in Order to Achieve Managerial Success

Conversations with Senior Management and the Boss

• Identify Steps for Planning Challenging Conversations with the Boss and/or Others in Senior Management
• Analyze and Flex Your Style Preferences When Your Conversation Partner Is Your Boss or Another Member of Senior Management
• Practice and Critique Conversation Skills When Placed in Various Conversation Situations with the Boss

Setting a Plan for Action

• Prepare an Ongoing Development Plan for Mastering Challenging Managerial Conversations

Sponsor Background:

• provide comprehensive, hands-on training that is of practical use when you return to the job
• focus on need-to-know specifics, relevant to the demands of global business today
• offer the expertise and personalized attention of top-ranking instructors
• facilitate your career development and business savvy

Whether you're looking for a solid foundation of business fundamentals or strategies to help you seize growth opportunities for your company, AMA offers expert instruction to help you:

• manage your priorities effectively
• cultivate more productive working relationships
• increase your on-the-job value
• align your skills with marketplace demands
• bring out the best in people, processes and yourself

Cancellation and Refund Policy

If you cannot attend a seminar you may contact AMA in advance to transfer to a future session, or can send someone to take your place. If you need to cancel your attendance, AMA will give you a complete refund if you cancel more than three weeks before your seminar begins. To cancel, simply call. If you cancel with less than three weeks' notice, you will be liable for the entire seminar fee, however you may request a courtesy transfer to use at any future AMA seminar of equal or lesser value. The courtesy transfer must be used within one year of the date of your originally scheduled seminar. In fairness to all attendees, if you do not attend a seminar session for which you are confirmed, and do not cancel with a minimum of three weeks’ notice as described above, you will be charged the entire seminar fee.