Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be Difficult:
A Simple, Smart Way to Make Your Relationships and Team Better
By Jon Gordon and Amy P. Kelly
Help your team maximize their full potential by mastering tough conversations!
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About the Action Plan
- This plan will guide you and your team through individual and group study, reflective questions, and actions to support practice and development of the ideas from the book. The goal of this plan is to help you and your team implement a simple, smart way to make your relationships and team better.
What Others Are Saying
In Difficult Conversations Don’t Have
to be Difficult, Jon and Amy share
a great story of leadership to create
a connected and collaborative people working together culture of love by design to create value and growth for the greater good. A key element is
a psychologically safe culture where everyone expects the unexpected
and expects to deal with it positively. Difficult issues are ‘gems’ to respect
and solve by working together.
ALAN MULALLY
Former CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Ford Motor Company
Having difficult, messy conversations lies at the heart of teamwork. Jon and Amy have written an immensely readable book to help take the sting out of those conversations, transforming workplace tension into understanding and reconciliation.
PATRICK LENCIONI
bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Six Types of Working Genius
We all know that some conversations are more challenging than others. Communication is a key skill for everyone in the workplace and life, especially executives. This story brings practical structure to assist in having the important conversations that make us all better individually and collectively.
MARIA MOORE
Chief Marketing Officer, Veritone
Excellent communication is critical for bringing values to life in our workplaces and communities. Oftentimes, people shy away from having constructive conversations when situations are challenging, or topics are sensitive. Interpersonal relationships and teams can be strengthened when people choose to artfully navigate around and through these roadblocks by exercising transparency, trust, and vulnerability to reach higher ground. With application of the principles shared, the story of Ruth and her team in this book will help other leaders and teams improve this important skill set and achieve success.
CHERI D. BENEDETTI
SHRM-SCP, Senior Vice President, Human Resources Officer, The Villages Health
About the Book
In Difficult Conversations Don’t Have to be Difficult: A Simple, Smart Way to Make Your Relationships and Team Better, bestselling author Jon Gordon and veteran human resources professional and executive coach Amy P. Kelly deliver an engaging and inspiring new take on how to make tough workplace conversations an asset in building a stronger team and organization.
The book, written as a business fable, follows Ruth, the CEO of a successful multinational company who has been instructed by her board to prepare her company for sale. Along the way, she must lead an underperforming and dysfunctional team to set aside their differences and work together toward a common goal. This includes growing herself while elevating her team’s performance. As Ruth discovers the secret to unlocking extraordinary growth and productivity, you’ll learn about:
- The critically important conversations you need to have with your team to realize outstanding results
- Structuring, planning, and having the tough conversations your team members really need
- Ensuring your team walks away from difficult conversations more united, motivated, inspired, and positioned for optimal growth and performance
Perfect for managers, executives, directors, and business leaders and their teams, Difficult Conversations Don’t Have to be Difficult is also a must-read for coaches, trainers, teachers, consultants, and other professionals doing their best to help others realize their full potential. Teams who read the book together will be equipped with a proven strategy and process to enhance communication performance and unity.
About the Authors
JON GORDON
is a 17-time bestselling author, thought leader, and one of the most sought after leadership speakers and consultants who has worked with many of the best leaders and organizations on the planet. He believes that positivity is a competitive advantage and is the author of 30 books, including The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, The Power of Positive Leadership and The Power of a Positive Team.
AMY P. KELLY
is the Vice President of Consulting for The Jon Gordon Companies and a Global Facilitator for The Association for Talent Development in the areas of Change Management, Improving Human Performance, and Consulting Skills. She is co-author of The Energy Bus Field Guide and the author of G.L.U.E.: A Leadership Development Strategy to Bond and Unite. In her career as a human resources executive, Amy built award-winning employment brands and corporate university programs. She is dedicated to helping executives and their teams grow.
