Three Ways to Prep for a Difficult Talk with Your Boss

Posted on March 3rd, 2010 by Meghna Majmudar

meghnaisfabulousMeghna heads up the High Impact Teams consulting practice at Ferrazzi Greenlight with Keith. She is based in New York City. If you have questions or want to increase your team's impact, contact her at mmajmudar at ferrazzigreenlight dot com.

Bosses are human. Sometimes they need help to give us what we need to be good employees. That means you've got to be prepared to ask for that help. Here's 4 ways to get prepped to have that difficult talk with your boss, get what you want, and strengthen your relationship.

1. Move past frustration and separate personal gripes from real workplace issues. Focus on getting what you need to do your job better. Try to approach the issue from a positive place - "I want to have a talk with you about improving my performance. I feel like we've fallen into some patterns that are limiting my ability to be effective and I want to get back on track."

2. Prepare yourself with 2-3 things specific requests of changes you need to be happier and more productive. If your requests are well-reasoned and not emotionally charged, it'll be easy to discuss the items and feedback, working from a collaborative space.

3. Find a way to end the call on a high note. If the call has gone well, or there's something your boss does well in general, tell him or her! People tend to forget that even bosses need encouragement.

How do you prepare yourself for those difficult conversations?

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4 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. Meghna,

    I really appreciate the advice you give to have a frank conversation with my boss. I have had to face that situation several times and I just have do it again tomorrow.

    A tip that works for me is me being honest, being convinced of what I'm worth and what I am and in the conversation I ask them to give me a feedback of how I'm doing my job. FEEDBACK (for both sides) is definitely the key.

    Thank you!

  2. Jim Protos says:
    March 4, 2010 at 8:48 am
    Reply

    I would recommend a fourth point: when bringing up specific items as issues, prepare and propose some possible solutions; don't leave it to the manager to come up with the solutions alone. This way you are indicating your willingness to meet halfway and your commitment to the team and to collaboration.

  3. Jim - Great point!!

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