Recently I had one of the hardest conversations I've ever had with anyone. It was with a valued employee who blindsided me. She sent me an e-mail asking for a promotion -- and then went on to explain everything that wasn't working about me, the company and how she would fix it all in her new job. I got upset, wanted to fire her and moaned to my boss. I didn't want to talk to her about it, but I knew we needed to fix the situation. I asked her to write a list of all the concerns she had about me and the company. We sat down and addressed each one of them. Once the conversation got going, it actually wasn't that hard -- in fact, it was a huge relief to finally deal with everything that had been unsaid between us. I learned a great deal about myself, about my employee and some serious issues that needed to be addressed within the company. Since that conversation we are more in-sync than ever. Now we are talking about her promotion from a place of utter partnership, instead of reaction and emotion. None of that would have happened without that difficult conversation.
Personal growth starts in your real life with the real conversations you are not having.
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