As a business owner, you must have tough conversations with your team, stakeholders, and others. As a leader, navigating tricky situations will be an essential skill; luckily, it’s one you can develop and refine with experience.

Having difficult conversations with your staff is a necessary part of running a successful business. These can arise when addressing performance concerns, managing training and expectations, or even letting go of a team member. In this type of dynamic and conversation, which may be emotionally charged, rely on these core tips to make your interactions productive and respectful and to maintain appropriate boundaries.

Plan ahead

Prepare thoroughly before engaging in a tough conversation with a member of your team. We all know the old saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” and this is never so true as when you’re dealing with a delicate situation with a staff member.

Speak to the relevant parties, including direct managers, and ensure you have your key facts near you to refer to as required. Consider how your conversation is likely to flow and know the ideal outcome you’d like – while nothing ever goes exactly to plan, mindful communication is key.

Set the scene

It’s important to get the time and place right for the backdrop for your tough conversations. Avoid times when your staff member might be pulled in different directions or when the day is nearing its end. Book in a private meeting room and ensure you have privacy away from the wider team (especially if you plan to offboard a team member). Avoid scheduling this type of meeting on a Friday or over the weekend. Give your team member adequate notice, but not so far in advance that it causes unnecessary anxiety.

Clear communication

It can be tempting to soften your language, but be clear about the purpose of the conversation. Address the key issue, ask relevant questions, and focus on actively listening to their responses—this is often when you’ll gain the most insight into the actions needed.

If you tiptoe around the issue, you’ll likely create more questions for your team member, or have them misunderstand the issue entirely.

Active listening

Give your team member your undivided attention and avoid assuming anything outside of the core facts. Let’s say this team member has been arriving late consistently and you need to address this with them. Your employee may acknowledge their poor time management skills and make a commitment to address them, or they may share some personal information that they have been reluctant to share yet – for example, they’ve taken on the care of a loved one and need to restructure their hours.

Keep an open mind and listen to their perspective – this will put you in good stead for creating solutions.

Proactive not reactive

Not all tough conversations can end with a positive outcome, but even if you have a foregone conclusion of what needs to happen, try to focus on solutions. Minimise a sense of blame and finger-pointing and look for opportunities to rectify and avoid this situation occurring again. Remember, you’re a team, so you may be able to collaboratively come up with a solution that works for both you and your team members.

Recordkeeping

Once your conversation has concluded, be sure to document this in a report (if you have an internal or external HR team, this is helpful to forward to them also). Summarize the discussion, conclusions reached, and timelines for any action items. This allows you to track progress and determine if further conversation is needed.

Business owners and leaders often need to do the ‘hard things’ and spearhead tough conversations with your team. By staying prepared, listening actively and developing communication and trust with every staff member, you’ll be on the front foot for tricky times.