Whenever you’re not getting the results you want, it’s likely an important conversation either hasn’t happened or hasn’t been handled well. We call these Crucial Conversations—discussions between two or more people where the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong.

When conversations turn crucial, people tend to follow one of two ineffective paths: they either speak directly and abrasively to get the results they want but harm relationships, or they remain silent with the
hope of preserving relationships only to sacrifice results.

But with the right set of skills people can step into disagreement—rather than over or around it—and turn disagreement into dialogue for improved relationships and results. And our research shows that both individual and organizational success are largely determined by how quickly, directly, and effectively we speak up when it matters most. At the heart of healthy and high-performance organizations are people willing and able to hold Crucial Conversations.

In this engaging session, participants will learn the research-based, time- tested dialogue skills used by more than five million book readers and one million training graduates.

You’ll learn how to:

• Handle tough, risky, or sensitive conversations honestly and respectfully.
• Foster alignment, agreement, and safety around high-stakes issues.
• Speak up to anyone, at any time, about nearly anything.

Change efforts fail when leaders narrowly look for a single cause behind their persistent problems and then try to implement quick-fix solutions.

On the other hand, influencers succeed because they understand that most problems are fed not by a single cause, but by a conspiracy of causes. They merge multiple sources of influence into a strategy that can overpower even the most persistent and resistant problems.

In a recent study published in MIT Sloan Management Review, Crucial Learning researchers found that those who combine all Six Sources of Influence are ten times more likely to succeed at producing substantial and sustainable change.

These results held true across areas of:

• C-Level concerns—bureaucratic infighting, silo thinking, and lack of accountability.
• Corporate change initiatives—internal restructurings, quality and productivity improvements, new product launches.
• Personal challenges—overeating, smoking, overspending.

Learn a step-by-step strategy for exponentially increasing your power to change your greatest and most persistent challenges

Managing performance is more than a process – it’s about people. Effective performance management isn’t done with software and tools. It’s accomplished by respectfully addressing your people’s behavior routinely and consistently. It’s about candidly coaching through challenges and holding people accountable for lapses in behavior. It’s about identifying goals, fast-tracking careers, and in the process, improving your people and your bottom line.

These are dialogue skills—the difficult kind that may not come naturally, but when learned, mean the difference between managing people and managing process.

In this engaging speech, participants will learn how to hold people accountable in a way that improves performance without compromising relationships.

They’ll learn how to:

• Diagnose the Underlying Cause. Identify the underlying cause behind every problem using a six-source model of possible influences.
• Make It Motivating. Motivate others without resorting to threats or power and instead, search for and explain natural consequences of noncompliance.
• Make It Easy. Involve others in coming up with a solution to their ability barriers.
• Manage Projects Without Taking Over. Help others avoid excuses, keep projects on track, and resolve performance barriers