Difficult Conversations (HBR 20-Minute Manager Series). Harvard Business Review

tion>

       Difficult Conversations

      Get up to speed fast on essential business skills. Whether you’re looking for a crash course or a brief refresher, you’ll find just what you need in HBR’s 20-Minute Manager series—foundational reading for ambitious professionals and aspiring executives. Each book is a concise, practical primer, so you’ll have time to brush up on a variety of key management topics.

      Advice you can quickly read and apply, from the most trusted source in business.

      Titles include:

       Creating Business Plans

       Delegating Work

       Difficult Conversations

       Finance Basics

       Getting Work Done

       Giving Effective Feedback

       Innovative Teams

       Managing Projects

       Managing Time

       Managing Up

       Performance Reviews

       Presentations

       Running Meetings

       Difficult Conversations

      Craft a clear message

       Manage emotions

       Focus on a solution

      HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PRESS

       Boston, Massachusetts

       HBR Press Quantity Sales Discounts

      Harvard Business Review Press titles are available at significant quantity discounts when purchased in bulk for client gifts, sales promotions, and premiums. Special editions, including books with corporate logos, customized covers, and letters from the company or CEO printed in the front matter, as well as excerpts of existing books, can also be created in large quantities for special needs.

      For details and discount information for both print and ebook formats, contact [email protected], tel. [phone], or www.hbr.org/bulksales.

      Copyright 2016 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation

      All rights reserved

       Printed in the United States of America

       10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to [email protected] .edu, or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163.

      The web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of the book’s publication but may be subject to change.

      Cataloging-in-Publication data is forthcoming

      ISBN: 978-1-63369-078-3

       eISBN: 978-1-63369-079-0

       Preview

      You’ve been putting off a difficult conversation. Maybe you feel wronged by someone or misunderstood. You may be caught in a clash of personalities or have competing goals with a colleague. Perhaps you have to deliver bad news, and you dread the person’s reaction. Whatever your situation, you need to address an issue to keep moving forward. This book will help you develop the skills you need to turn a difficult conversation into a productive dialogue, including:

      • Understanding what makes some conversations difficult

      • Discovering what’s at the heart of the challenge you’re facing

      • Identifying and managing the emotions involved

      • Seeing the bigger picture to expand possible solutions

      • Framing the issue in a way your counterpart can relate to

      • Listening actively and responding with empathy

      • Staying flexible and managing the unexpected

      • Finding areas of agreement

      • Building on your new skills so you’ll be ready for the next tough conversation

       Contents

       What Makes a Conversation Difficult?

       Conflicting interests

       Different personal styles

       Lack of trust

       Different views of the facts

       Strong emotions

       Think It Through

       Should you act?

       When you decide