When it comes to confronting our direct reports, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Constructive confrontations in the workplace are often altogether avoided either because we are afraid to get hurt ourselves or we are cautious about hurting the other person. Ironically, when it comes to holding challenging conversations, both action and inaction bring a similar set of risks. The act of confronting, however, also brings with it a greater opportunity to improve your employees’ performance, level of work satisfaction, productivity, or all of the above.
It’s time that we confront ourselves about our fear of confronting. Only then, can we confidently harness the positive aspects of initiating challenging conversations with our people.