Difficult Conversations

Burying it is unkind

When a conversation is going to be uncomfortable, the temptation is a warm-up: how are things, how is the family, and by the way. The colleague knows why they are there, and every minute of preamble raises the fear.

Say it first, plainly: "I want to talk about the Year 9 reports, which have been late three times this term. I want to understand why and agree what changes."

Then stop talking

Let the silence sit. The most common leadership error here is filling the pause with softening, qualification, and half-retraction until the original point has disappeared.

Hold the point, flex the plan

The issue is not negotiable; the route to fixing it usually is. That distinction is what makes you firm rather than harsh — and it gives the colleague real agency in a conversation they did not choose.

Write it down afterwards

Three sentences to them the same day: what you discussed, what you agreed, when you will check in. Memory diverges quickly, and a short written record protects both of you.