The Art and Science of Difficult Conversations – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, we discuss how to handle situations where a high-performing employee or leader is creating interpersonal challenges in the workplace. Whether you're a manager, team member, or leader, dealing with someone who excels technically but struggles with people skills can be tricky. We explore the risks of not addressing the issue, strategies for providing constructive feedback, and how to prepare for these tough conversations. Plus, we roleplay a common scenario to demonstrate key techniques. Join us for practical tips and insights on managing difficult workplace dynamics.

Key Topics:

• Why interpersonal conflict matters even with high performance
• Strategies to provide constructive feedback
• How to prepare for difficult conversations with concrete examples
• The importance of aligning behavior with organizational culture
• Roleplay demonstration: How to approach a divisive leader

Takeaways:

• Preparation and concrete data are key when addressing difficult conversations.
• Ask the right questions to uncover underlying motivations and behavioral patterns.
• Don’t avoid the conversation—address it early to prevent larger issues later.

Difficult Conversations Newsletter

Want more updates on how to handle difficult conversations?  Grab your weekly copy here: www.tinyurl.com/leadershippotential

 Check out the Mastering Difficult Conversations Course https://leadershippotential.teachable.com/p/mastering-difficult-conversations-how-to

Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/tas.difficultconvos

Email – tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc

Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

What can you say if your wife wants a separation? Or a divorce?

 If you’re like most men, you’ll feel blindsided and/or you’ll immediately try to figure out how to solve this problem.  Unfortunately, that’s actually not the right way to approach it at all.

 In this week’s episode, Lucie and Chris talk with Randy, an experienced relationship coach focused on helping separated husbands reconnect with their wives. His faith-based methods center around growing closer to Christ and becoming the best version of ourselves, which provides the greatest chance of reconciling marriages.

 Here he shares his best tips, including:

  Why talking about it may not actually be the best option

•  How problem-solving approaches don’t work
•  What it means to actually be a better person, and not just doing it for your spouse.

Randy collaborates with professionals, business owners, and executives. Good men who accept responsibility for their part in the breakdown of their marriage and seek to reconnect with their wives. Through live sessions and actionable strategies, Randy and his coaches support them while holding them accountable, ensuring their relationships improve.

Before coaching, Randy was a professional comedy magician/juggler on cruise ships all over the world. His previous experience in the “funny business” helps lighten the mood when discussing the serious topics of separation and divorce, and helps husbands realize that, with Christ, there is ALWAYS hope.

 Connect with Randy here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachrandypryor/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hopeforseparatedhusbands

Website: https://RandyPryor.com or http://SOSRandy.com

Difficult Conversations Newsletter

Want more updates on how to handle difficult conversations?  Grab your weekly copy here: www.tinyurl.com/leadershippotential

 Check out the Mastering Difficult Conversations Course https://leadershippotential.teachable.com/p/mastering-difficult-conversations-how-to

Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/tas.difficultconvos

Email – tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc

Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

The Do’s and Don’ts of negotiating a raise

 Summary:

 Being paid fairly for your work is always a hot topic issue.  In fact, if you’ve been at your company for quite a while, you should consider asking for a raise.

 And it’s not just an intellectual exercise.

Not getting a raise can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your career and you might be missing out on valuable buffers against inflation.

 But it’s not about asking for a raise – it’s about learning how to negotiate that raise.  It’s a difficult conversation especially if you are squeamish talking about money or touting your own accomplishments. 

 In today’s episode, Lucie and Chris walk through the Do’s and Don’ts of difficult conversations around negotiating a raise.

 They cover:

• The importance of research
• Focusing on value and growth of the company
• Creating a collaborative environment

 And teach you how NOT to do it, including:

• Don’t lie/bluff/threaten
• Don’t talk about fairness

Then they demonstrate how to do the conversation in two different scenarios. 

Let us know what you think – what could Chris have done differently to negotiate his raise?

Resources

Instagram account that Chris referenced around salary transparency – Salary Transparent Street

Info about Mastering Difficult Conversations Course

Contact Us 

Instagram

Youtube

Email – tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc

Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Join us for another compilation episode! This time, we put together Season One's most popular roleplay episodes of personal relationship scenarios.

Enjoy!

Do you have feedback or tips for what we could do in season two?

Please let us know!

Connect with us here:

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn: Chris—www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc

Lucie—www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Let us know.

Join us for another compilation episode! This time, we put together Season one's most popular roleplay episodes of professional relationship scenarios. 

Enjoy! 

Do you have feedback? Tips what we could do in season two? Please let us know! 

Connect with us here: 

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn:  
Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc
Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Let us know.

Today, we're doing something a little different. Over the past few months, we've had some amazing guests share their wisdom, personal stories, and strategies for navigating tough conversations. As we reach a new milestone and are completing season 1 of our podcast, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate and revisit together the most popular and impactful interviews from season one! And btw, we are already recording some new cool episodes for season two, so stay tuned!

In this compilation episode, you'll hear from:

• Andrea Horton-Meriçli, who shared about overcoming imposter syndrome, how do you find your own voice and find the confidence to be yourself
• Steven Farber, where we discussed how knowing different personality styles can make any of your conversations more impactful and effective
• Tiffany Teng, who explores how cultural and family backgrounds can shape the way we handle conflicts
• Last but not least, with Tahi Matejko we will explore what you should do first before you even have the difficult conversation with your partner if you want to have a strong and good relationship with them

Do you have feedback? Tips what we could do in season two? Please let us know! 

Connect with us here: 

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn:  
Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc
Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Let us know.

Join us for the Season 1 Compilation Episode, focusing on several strategies that can make your difficult conversations better and more effective. 

Do you have feedback? Tips what we could do in season two? Please let us know! 

Connect with us here: 

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn:  
Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc
Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Let us know.

Join us for the final episode of season one of our podcast! Thank you for joining us on this journey, for all your comments and support, and for your curiosity and commitment to improving your conversations - be it in your personal or professional life. Thank you! 

What do we cover in this episode?

1. Unexpected Beginnings: Chris and Lucie reflect on how their podcast collaboration started despite never meeting in person and living on opposite coasts.
2. Gratitude and Growth: Both hosts express gratitude for each other's contributions, highlighting how they kept the podcast structured and moving forward.
3. Celebrating Milestones: They celebrate reaching over 2000 downloads and the positive impact on their listeners' lives.
4. Challenges and Lessons: Chris and Lucie share personal challenges they faced during roleplays and how they grew from these experiences.
5. Future Plans: Exciting plans for Season Two, including combining strategy and roleplay episodes and incorporating guest experts into roleplays.

Do you have feedback? Tips what we could do in season two? Please let us know! 

Connect with us here: 

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn:  
Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc
Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Let us know.

In this episode, we sit down with Aries Yeo, a former banking executive turned leadership coach, to discuss how her cultural background and upbringing make it often difficult for her to speak up. She provides insights into how her value of authenticity gives her the courage to overcome these cultural barriers and personal fears and enables her to engage in meaningful dialogues.

Key Takeaways:

• Being authentic involves self-awareness and respect for others.
• Cultural and personal backgrounds shape how we handle conversations.
• Authentic communication requires acknowledging and embracing differences.
• Self-love and self-acceptance are fundamental to being true to yourself.
• Effective dialogue often begins with understanding others’ viewpoints.

Can you relate to her experience? What gives you the courage to speak up even when you as a child were discouraged to? How did you learn to find and own your voice?

If you have a personal story you would like to share with us, let us know! 

Connect with Aries: 

• Website
• LinkedIn

Connect with us here: 

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn:  
Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc
Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Join us this week to explore how to talk with your partner (spouse) about household chores and responsibilities.

In this episode, Chris Wong and Lucie Tesarova role-play a couple: one is a bit messier, and the other would prefer to have the household cleaner. See what mistakes Chris made in the first scenario, and what he did differently in the second take of this roleplay. 

What could you take away from these conversations about how to have or not have these types of conversations in your personal life? Let us know!

Connect with us here: 

Email: tas.difficultconversations@gmail.com

LinkedIn:  
Chris – www.linkedin.com/in/chriswonglmhc
Lucie – www.linkedin.com/in/lucietesarova

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Let us know.