Inspiring Workplaces 
The Way Work Ought to Be!

#1,098- October 29, 2025

If you've ever lost sleep tossing and turning because you're dreading a difficult conversation or because you're replaying a conversation over and over....well, you're not alone! 

The dread of facing a difficult conversation ranks near the top of the heap as a major source of stress at work. Surveys suggest nearly 50% of people dread having just a plain-old-regular conversation with their boss (ouch!), let alone having a more difficult conversation.  

According to CMI research, 57% of survey respondents said they would do almost anything to avoid a difficult conversation (including quitting their jobs); while 52% said they would rather put up with a negative situation at work than have to talk about it. Imagine the toll that takes on people! 

Despite the fact that avoiding challenging conversations erodes morale at work, creates enormous levels of stress, hinders collaboration and innovation, weakens teamwork, destroys trust, and allows unacceptable workplace behavior to fester, a whopping 80% of employees in the CMI survey said they've received no training on how to have an effective, collaborative conversation. 

And consider the upside of having richer conversations: improved morale, happier employees, stronger relationships, more collaborative teams, greater innovation, and a healthier and more resilient culture. As I have said countless times, the quality of your workplace conversations you have at work will determine the quality of your workplace culture.    

So, I am excited to offer a one-hour "Stop Losing Sleep, Start Talking More: Mastering Workplace Conversations" virtual presentation on Tuesday, November 25 at 1:00 PM EST/11:00am MST. 

This fast-paced, lively presentation will include conversation cheat sheets and templates to help you master those icky and tricky conversations with ease and confidence. 

For details and to register, click here. And if you can't make the live presentation we've got you covered - you'll still have access to the recording. If there's a topic you you'd like me to include please respond to this email - operators are accepting requests now!