The conversations we put off
Difficult Conversations and Conflict.
A day on the conversations most managers put off: conflict, feedback, distress and disagreement, handled with steadiness and respect.
- Level
- Immerse
- Learning time
- 9 hours 30 minutes
- Where
- Leading people
- Price
- £249
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Completion and Assessment with a short assessment
Content Note.
This topic is about mental health at work. Part 3, Safe to Speak, Safe to Seek Help, talks about suicide and how to respond when someone is in crisis. It follows the Samaritans' guidance on talking about suicide safely and gives no detail of methods. Take it at your own pace, pause whenever you need to, and come back to it later if that helps.
If you need to talk to someone now, call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, day or night. For urgent mental health help, call NHS 111 (in Wales press 2, in England choose option 2; in Scotland NHS 24 is also on 111). In Northern Ireland, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. If a life is at risk, call 999.
Overview and Outcomes.
Who It's For
Any manager handling conflict, feedback or distress
Overview
Most managers know which conversations they are putting off, and avoided conversations only grow harder. The conversations we put off starts by treating conflict as information, using Jehn's types of conflict, Glasl's escalation stages and the dual concern models of conflict style. It then works through Stone, Patton and Heen's three conversations, Crucial Conversations, Nonviolent Communication, Situation, Behaviour, Impact and Radical Candor, alongside conflict in teams, fair process during change and Chris Voss's tactical empathy. Emotional intelligence supports self-management in the moment, and the day closes with noticing when a colleague may be struggling and starting a supportive conversation about mental health.
Aims
This programme aims to give managers the steadiness and skill to hold the conversations they would rather avoid: conflict, feedback, disagreement and distress. It develops the self-awareness to manage their own reactions, the structures to keep a hard conversation respectful and purposeful, and the confidence to act early, before a concern becomes a crisis.
In summary, you will be able to:
- Diagnose the type and stage of a conflict and choose a response style that fits the situation rather than defaulting to habit.
- Use structured approaches to feedback, difficult conversations and tactical empathy to keep hard conversations respectful, honest and productive.
- Notice early signs that a colleague may be struggling and open a supportive conversation while managing your own emotional responses.
What you'll develop
By the end of this Immerse, you will be able to:
- Distinguish task, relationship and process conflict and explain what the meta-analytic evidence says about each.
- Compare the dual concern models and choose a conflict mode by weighing the stakes and the relationship.
- Use Tuckman's stages and Lencioni's pyramid to identify what a team needs from its leader.
- Give specific, caring and direct feedback using Situation, Behaviour, Impact and Radical Candor, and explain why the feedback sandwich undermines both criticism and praise.
- Use mirroring, labelling, calibrated questions and the accusation audit in a difficult conversation.
- Compare Ekman's classical theory of emotion with Barrett's theory of constructed emotion and identify where they genuinely disagree and where they agree.
- Explain the dual continua model and why the absence of a diagnosis is not the same as being well.
- Identify changes in work, behaviour, energy and relationships that may signal someone is struggling, without attempting a diagnosis.
Built from 7 parts.
9 hours 30 minutes of learning.
- 01Where conflict comes fromUnderstanding workplace conflict and escalationBitesize · Leading through Change and Conflict2 modules
- 02The conversations we avoidConflict styles and difficult conversationsBitesize · Leading through Change and Conflict2 modules
- 03Conflict across the boundariesTeam conflict, justice and industrial relationsBitesize · Leading through Change and Conflict2 modules
- 04The conversations that countFeedback, coaching and conflict for managersBitesize · Management1 module
- 05Listening your way to yesTactical empathy, Chris Voss and negotiationBitesize · Influence, Persuasion and Negotiation2 modules
- 06Know yourself, steady yourselfEmotions, self-awareness and self-managementBitesize · Emotional Intelligence2 modules
- 07Starting the conversationWork stress and the HSE Management StandardsBitesize · Mental Health at Work for Managers3 modules