Invest in Your Team’s Success with Difficult Conversations, Crucial Conversations, and Conflict Management Training.
Knowing how to confidently and compassionately have difficult conversations means your team will increase their ability to build trusting relationships, reduce stress and find collaborative solutions. That’s what happens when they know how to prepare a plan for shared success.
Investing in your team’s success by providing difficult conversations and conflict management training builds their confidence and shared respect while also saving time, energy and resources. Rather than avoiding uncomfortable conversations, your team can focus on robust solutions and building collaborative internal and client relationships that drive your shared business outcomes with confidence and pride.
Bruce offers difficult conversation training in Toronto and across Canada, frequently speaking in Montreal, Kingston, Halifax and Vancouver to help teams prepare to safely express disagreements and/or deliver challenging news. We deliver our training online and in-person.
Bruce Mayhew Consulting uses real examples to help participants experience new business skills first-hand. We also believe your team can have fun and be motivated while we deliver customized learning experiences.
Plan | Engage | Succeed
“You can trust us to do the job for you.”
Difficult Conversations Don’t Have to Be Difficult
Difficult Conversations are not usually steeped in conflict unless those conversations are ignored. As Lou Solomon reports in the Harvard Business Review, two-thirds of managers are uncomfortable communicating with their employees.
Two reasons why difficult conversations are avoided:
FEAR of being attacked back or of disappointing someone.
FEAR of not knowing how to have a respectful and constructive difficult conversations. Lack of skills and confidence leave your employees feeling unprepared and anxious, often resulting in an avoidable escalation further down the road.
Our conflict management and difficult conversations training addresses these challenges head-on with empathy. Our proven strategies help build mutual respect and trust while also strengthening your important relationships.
Benefits of Difficult Conversations & Conflict Management Training for Your Organization and Teams
It's natural to dislike challenging crucial conversations, and yet learning why conflict at work happens, the benefits of resolution and how to have them is part of a well-balanced professional development plan. After our skills training course participants will:
Enhance Trust and Collaboration: Trust is the foundation of any successful team, and collaboration cannot flourish without it. Employees learn why trust matters and how to build trust by learning to approach difficult conversations safely and effectively, promoting stronger, more trusting cross-department relationships where every team member feels heard, valued, and is able to contribute.
Reduce Workplace Stress: Workplace stress often stems from unresolved conflict and unmanaged emotions. Training provides framework and tools that help participants recognize early signs of conflict and the opportunity to master their emotions and triggers which minimizes anxiety and fosters a healthier, more resilient work environment and resolve conflict.
Understand Avoidance is Natural: Recognize avoiding conflict and difficult conversations is a natural response that can be influenced by beliefs and ego. Most people shy away from uncomfortable conversations, hoping issues will resolve themselves. However, avoidance can often undermine trust, stall performance, and lead to higher turnover. When leaders recognize avoidance as a natural behaviour, they can address its root causes and create a safe team culture where concerns can be voiced safely.
Increased Productivity: Learn when and how to say No... respectfully, and how to provide constructive feedback, and resolve issues quickly in a productive, supportive way. Having difficult conversations when challenges arise prevents small challenges from escalating into conflict, ensuring employees and teams stay proud of their work and focused on shared goals. This approach improves productivity and builds a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.
Improve Employee Engagement and Retention: Employee engagement and retention depend on a respectful, inclusive team culture. We explore how to use proven negotiation strategies especially when people are angry in order to protect and support a safe and respectful team culture, leading to higher employee satisfaction and higher retention. When employees feel respected and valued, they are more likely to stay, contribute fully, and become champions of the organization’s values.
Building a people-first, values-driven workplace is an ongoing journey and difficult conversations training is an important part of a professional development plan. By integrating these practical strategies, leaders set the stage for a dynamic, safe, and highly successful organization. If we do nothing, avoiding confrontation and difficult conversations leads to resentment, lack of trust and loss of motivation. It also means an uncomfortable situation can quickly escalate into serious conflict and crucial conversations.
Toronto based Bruce Mayhew Consulting teaches participants how to use negotiation and conflict resolution skills that lead to mutually beneficial outcomes and long-term profitable relationships.
Learn why trust matters and how to build trust.
Our Approach to Difficult Conversations & Conflict Management
Toronto Difficult Conversations training expert and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting provides practical step-by-step solutions supported by real life examples. We explore unique solutions that have great impact like:
How to discuss what matters most.
Why it's best to always consider a personal / emotional resolution.
The top mistakes most people make when having difficult conversations.
These conversations and negotiations are important, that's why we also explore the impact of:
Triggers
Judgment
Assumptions
Fear
Beliefs
Who Should Attend?
Difficult conversations training is for all employees who manage staff, work in collaborative environments and/or who routinely negotiate or deal with difficult people (customers or suppliers). Confidently turn crucial conversations into constructive conversations.
To learn more about how you and your organization can benefit, call us at 416.617.0462.
Related Management Training That Drives Business Success
Bruce Mayhew offers professional development, career training and Difficult Conversations training in Toronto. We also offer training and speak at conferences in New York and throughout Canada and the USA. Bruce Mayhew Consulting's other popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Generational Differences and Time Management Training.
You are one email away from an interactive, customized solution… or…
give us a call: 416 617 0462.
Bruce Mayhew, Crucial conversations training
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How To approach Difficult conversations
Difficult Conversations, Crucial Conversations and Conflict Management Tips
Training Tip #1
Know what you want to achieve in advance. Be sure to stay positive, listen without judging and don't be defensive. Difficult conversations are emotional and can be stressful for everyone, but it's important we try not to BE emotional during the conversation. We apply Emotion Focused Therapy to help participants understand their feelings and the feelings of their stakeholders.
Training Tip #2
Make sure the timing right. Everyone involved has to be 100% present and not distracted - therefore - make sure you do this (as best you can), when everyone is at their best.
For example - you don't want to have a difficult conversation as your associate is running out the door late for a meeting - or when you and your partner are pulling up to a New Years eve party.
Training Tip #3
Know that it's going to be uncomfortable for you and the other person / people... so, be comfortable with the idea that you will be uncomfortable.
Knowing you are going to feel uncomfortable during a difficult conversation will help you keep your focus and your emotions in check.
Thank you for visiting.
Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers corporate training, keynote speaker presentations and executive coaching in Toronto Ontario, Kingston Ontario, Montréal Quebec and throughout Canada and the USA. Our goal is to go to where employees are most comfortable and to help them acquire new skills and experience. We believe theory becomes experience when you use your new skills within safe career training environments.