When Is The Best Time To Have A Difficult Conversation?

By Jayson Krause, Managing Director of Level 52 & Author of The Science Behind Success

You may have heard the proverb that states, "The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now." The same can be applied to a difficult conversation.

Look, difficult conversations are not only inevitable but necessary. Strong leaders intentionally generate creative tension and consider it one of many important ingredients that produce meaningful performance. The second best time to have a difficult conversation is right after the incident that requires you to have one. The BEST time to do it is BEFORE any negative incidents occur. It's part of a very well-engineered relationship, an important concept that we teach in our Accelerated Leader Programs.  

Any difficult conversation you can generate early on will be way easier than the one you have after there’s been a compounding buildup of dissatisfaction.

I dive deeper into this in the video below: