Are you putting off a tough conversation at work? Whether it’s with a colleague, employee, or your boss, delaying these moments can make workplace communication even more challenging. This episode is your essential guide to handling tough conversations at work with confidence, clarity, and true leadership skills. Difficult conversations aren’t hard because the truth is hidden—they’re tough because we avoid them until the consequences are unavoidable. In this powerful episode, Barry shares a real-life workplace communication case study (the Bill story) and unveils a proven 4-step framework designed to help you lead tough conversations at work without damaging trust, team culture, or your leadership credibility.
You’ll discover: - A 4-part framework that transforms tough conversations at work into constructive opportunities for growth - Exact phrases and questions to lower defensiveness and encourage honest reflection - Real-world insights for leading with empathy while upholding high standards - A clear path to restore trust, reset expectations, and move forward—even after uncomfortable feedback - Tools to stay calm, connected, and clear, no matter how awkward the workplace topic If you’ve been avoiding a difficult discussion, now’s the time to step up and strengthen your workplace communication and leadership skills. Use this framework to protect your team’s culture and lead with both strength and respect. Hit play now!
Get the Difficult Conversations Prep Checklist at: https://tinyurl.com/Diff-Con-Checklist
The Leadership Career Accelerator
Build Executive Presence, Influence With Impact & Get Promoted
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The Leadership Career Accelerator podcast is for young professionals, team leads, emerging leaders, new managers, entry-level managers, and first-time managers navigating real-world career challenges. They're ambitious professionals, high achievers, and corporate climbers striving for career advancement, career growth, and professional success. Along the way, they face imposter syndrome, self-doubt, fear of failure, burnout, and career anxiety, often feeling overlooked, undervalued, underpaid, or trapped in stagnation and job pressure. They want to overcome micromanagement, office politics, comparison, and difficult bosses, while learning how to lead through influence, trust, persuasion, and emotional intelligence. These business professionals seek leadership training that builds confidence, executive presence, and authority, with tools like communication skills, public speaking, negotiation, and storytelling. They care about productivity, self-improvement, mindset, decision making, and professional development—all while trying to stand out in complex workplace dynamics. Their goals include earning respect, recognition, a promotion, or a raise, building credibility, gaining clarity, and achieving the visibility and upward mobility they deserve through sharpened leadership skills and true impact.
Barry Moline is a longtime energy industry CEO and public speaker specializing in teamwork, leadership, and influence. With extensive experience managing diverse teams, Barry provides practical insights and strategies to foster a positive, productive workplace. Connect with Barry on LinkedIn for more tips on effective leadership and team management, on his website, or email at [email protected].
Build Executive Presence, Influence With Impact & Get Promoted
Each episode gives you practical tools to build executive presence, influence with impact, and get recognized and promoted.
This podcast is for ambitious early-career leaders facing imposter syndrome, burnout, office politics, and tough bosses. If you’re uncertain about what actions to take to be seen as a leader, you’re in the right place. You’ll learn influence, communication, confidence, and executive presence so you can earn respect, gain visibility, and achieve the promotions and career growth you deserve.
Listen:
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If you listen to any of the following shows, we're sure you'll love ours too! Dare to Lead with Brené Brown, which explores courage, vulnerability, and culture shifts in leadership; The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast, offering practical and actionable advice for leading teams and organizations; The Maxwell Leadership Podcast with John C. Maxwell, known for classic, principle-based lessons from one of the world’s foremost leadership experts; HBR IdeaCast hosted by Alison Beard and Curt Nickisch, which covers leadership, strategy, and innovation with top thinkers and executives; The EntreLeadership Podcast with Dave Ramsey, focusing on leadership in entrepreneurial and business contexts; How Leaders Lead with David Novak, featuring interviews with top leaders from business, sports, and entertainment; The Leadership Podcast with Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos, which highlights real-world leadership experiences; Just One Question with Dr. Nick Morgan, a fast-paced show that distills leadership insights into one powerful question per episode; Leadership Biz Café with Tanveer Naseer, exploring the human side of leadership and teamwork; and The Learning Leader Podcast with Ryan Hawk, which emphasizes continuous learning, personal growth, and leadership development through conversations with high performers.
Tough Conversations | Difficult Conversations At Work Examples
Do you have a tough conversation you’ve been avoiding—maybe with a colleague, employee, or even your boss? Every day you delay, it gets more uncomfortable. This episode is your playbook for handling those moments with courage, clarity, and impact.
Welcome to the Leadership Career Accelerator, where we help aspiring leaders build executive presence, influence with impact, and get recognized and promoted. I’m longtime CEO Barry Moline. If you enjoy practical leadership tools, please hit subscribe.
Tough conversations.
They’re not hard because the truth is unclear. They’re hard because we delay them until consequences show up. I’ll share a real-life case study—the Bill Story—and a simple four-part framework you can use immediately.
Quick lesson on direct feedback: early in my first season as a professional hockey referee, I was coasting instead of skating into position. After a game, a senior ref told me, “When the puck leaves the attacking zone and crosses the blue line, that’s your cue to get your ass out of the zone.” Then he added, “I want you to be a better referee.” Direct. Clear. Future-focused. Great difficult conversations correct the present without destroying the future.
Now the workplace.
I had an employee named Bill who led committee meetings. One day, in a meeting I wasn’t in, he made an inappropriate comment: “That sounds like what the Nazis did in Germany.” People were shocked and said nothing in the moment. Later, a staff member told me what happened and asked me to address it so it wouldn’t happen again. This is the leadership moment: you’re busy, you’re human, and it’s tempting to wait. But waiting lets the issue spread—and it quietly changes culture.
Here’s the four-phase framework I used:
- Clarity: Put the issue on the table early, directly, and without distortion. I scheduled time quickly and messaged, “Bill, can we meet for 20 minutes? I received feedback from the committee meeting today that we need to talk through.” In the meeting I stuck to facts: “Multiple people reported you compared something to the Nazis in Germany.” Then I verified: “Did you say that, or something close?” He acknowledged he did. Next, I explained impact: “It offended people. Even if you intended humor, comments like that can make a meeting feel unsafe. People stop contributing, trust erodes, and collaboration suffers. And to be clear: those kinds of comments can’t happen again in meetings you lead.”
- Control: Reduce defensiveness by giving agency. I asked permission: “This is a difficult topic—are you open to talking about it?” Then I used interrogative questions instead of a lecture: “What was your intent? How do you think it landed? If you were in the room, how would you feel hearing it?” Reflection without humiliation.
- Respect: Keep your tone steady and professional. Acknowledge the person without surrendering the standard. You can be firm and human at the same time.
- Future orientation: Shift to what “good” looks like next time. Agree on the pathway forward, the next steps, and what you’ll both do to prevent a repeat.
How to start a difficult conversation.
Lead with clarity, invite engagement, protect dignity, and move the discussion toward a better future.
Difficult conversations at work examples.
Use this framework to address problems early while keeping the culture strong.
Difficult conversations with employees examples.
Handled well, they become turning points that restore trust, reset expectations, and improve performance.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, Navigating Difficult Conversations At Work Examples Requires A Structured Approach. By Using The Four-Phase Framework, Leaders Can Transform Difficult Conversations With Employees Examples Into Opportunities For Growth And Understanding. Remember, Clarity, Control, Respect, And Future Orientation Are Key To Ensuring These Tough Conversations Lead To Positive Outcomes. Implement These Strategies To Foster A More Open And Trusting Workplace Environment.
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Timecode:
0:00
Handling Tough Conversations
3:13
The Bill Story Case Study
6:26
Four-Phase Framework Introduction
9:39
Phase One: Clarity
12:52
Phase Two: Control
16:05
Phase Three: Respect
19:18
Phase Four: Future Orientation