AMA

How do you have a difficult conversation when someone's meeting the standard? The first thing you want to do is ask yourself, was the standard clear? Did they know that the standard was a standard? Because often times we think that we've communicated it in our head, and it's actually a hidden expectation that person doesn't know. So phrased in a different way, if you were to bring up this conversation and this issue, would they be surprised? Or would they not be surprised? If they're surprised, likely it would be because they don't know how they're doing in relation to the expectation. Meaning they may not know what the expectation is. So will they be surprised or not? Your key indicator. Regardless, what you wanna set the conversation up using the base framework. So B is for brace in the conversation. At the very beginning, brace them and say, I need to have a difficult conversation with you. And then you say, very important, your job is safe. However, we do need to address this in order for this to not be an issue in the future. Then A is action. So you want to tell them specific actions that they took or behaviors that they had that do not meet the expectation. The facts. It about them, you make it about them. So on behavior, you didn't come prepared to this one on one meeting like I had asked you to. Be specific about what they did or didn't do, not make it about them. And then S is score. So you score the level of how serious it is. So this is a 7 out of 10 level seriousness or level severity for me. It's not fireable, but it does need to stop today and we do need to find a way to move forward. And then E is expectation. So what is it to see moving forward? So moving forward, I need to see you prepared for these are the specific items and then you ask them, do you agree? So assuming that they're going to try to meet that expectation, then you go, okay, what is your plan? How you're gonna walk me through how you're gonna make sure that this doesn't happen again? This is the most critical part of the conversation that a lot of people miss. And this is the difference between somebody taking ownership versus just nodding and being like, yep, sounds good and then still doing that thing anyway. So you ask them, what is your plan? You to actually hit this expectation moving forward. And then you get them to tell you what they're gonna do differently. And this is where you might have to put on a coaching hat and ask more questions and help guide them to the solution and brainstorm it together. So that they have some reassurance from you that you're helping them, you're collaborating and helping them think through the correct course of action. So you want to leave that meeting with a plan, expectations and a deadline of what that needs to look like moving forward in order for them to meet the expectation. Only then can they actually meet the expectation. So that's how you run a difficult conversation. Comment based. Comment "base" below if you want the full framework and actually has the scripting as well. So you can look at what to say and what not to say in these conversations.