Trailhead Thoughts
“When we avoid difficult conversations, we trade short-term discomfort for long-term dysfunction.”
- Peter Bromberg
Trail Map - Learn. Think. Act. ™
Tough Conversations? Start Here.
Some conversations feel heavy.
Giving feedback.
Receiving criticism.
Clearing the air.
Why do they go wrong so often?
Because what’s said, what’s heard, and what’s remembered are rarely the same.
Let’s fix that.
📚Learn
When feedback gets hard, three things are usually happening:
Walls go up.
We care. We care about our work. We care about the people we work with. We care about ourselves. As a result - we get defensive.
Noise gets in the way.
Stress from outside work follows us inside.
Trust is shaky.
Without trust, everything sounds like an attack.
Here’s the simple fix:
Ask, “What did you hear me say?”
Take ownership: “I didn’t communicate that clearly.”
Align on goals: “What are we trying to accomplish together?”
Be objective. Share observations, not accusations.
End with clarity. Who will do what by when?
Trust. But verify.
Small changes over time create big results.
🤔Think
Before your next hard conversation, pause and ask yourself:
Am I trying to win or improve the relationship?
What might be going on in their world right now?
Is this a skill issue, a motivation issue, or an opportunity issue?
Do I have a clear next step in mind?
Most people want to go good work.
But they find themselves distracted, unclear or unsupported.
Grace + clarity = progress.
💪 Act
Before your next feedback conversation:
Write down your objective.
Write down the shared goal.
Decide the one behavior that needs to change.
Plan one clear next step.
During the conversation ask:
“What did you hear me say?”
Then confirm:
Who will do what by when
Better communication leads to stronger trust which leads to faster results.
