"I need to have a very difficult conversation with my team," said Brian.  "Things are not going well, and I'm scared we will miss this year's target. Everyone's going flat out, and I can tell they sense it. I'm worried I'll make things worse, if I push them. What do I say?"

"Not by showing you're afraid. Spreading fear can make things more difficult not better."

"What do you mean?

"Fear may get them rushing to do the same old stuff quicker, but you'll pay the price in stress and quality. You need people to quickly create new, more effective, ways of working. To do that your conversations must connect them to their powerful inner cores, as well as their minds and emotions. A boost of loyalty, respect, patience, faith, hope, and joy is what they need when you talk about the situation."

"Okay, how do I do that?"

"First, for every conversation, make the deeper connection at your own inner spiritual core. When you do this, you bring the calm, confident presence that compels. It's infectious.

"Then, in your conversations: Listen, Encourage and Connect. With your neediness calmed, show praise, recognition, and gratitude that you genuinely feel. Don't rush to shove the problem onto them, ask them to be co-creators in solutions. Don't criticize them for missing goals, connect them to the team's greater purpose for serving. Don't stop at the data, dig into the meaning and deeper truth for them individually.

"It's called Compelling Conversations."

Stephen
ANE  = Calm, Confident, Connected, Courageous Leadership    

PS: In PA/NY/NJ area? Please consider joining our November 15 breakfast event in Newtown, PA: Create Compelling Conversations.