Want Better Conversations with Your Team? Stop Telling Them How They Feel

If you're a leader or a people manager, I have a conversational tip that can drastically improve how your team members interpret messages you send- for the better.

Imagine you have a team member, and you can tell they're upset.

What a lot of leaders might do, albeit with great intentions, is go to that employee and start a conversation with something like: "Hey, I know you're upset."

However, the problem with phrasing it that way is that it can rob the employee of that feeling of agency to communicate their feelings.

As it turns out, we don't love being told how we feel.

So instead of saying: "I know you're upset."

Try using a different phrasing, such as: "It wouldn't surprise me if you were upset about this…" or "I'm curious if you're feeling upset because that would make sense to me if you were feeling upset…"

Framing the conversation differently will give your employees the agency to agree or disagree with you and hopefully lead to a better conversation.

And here's a free PDF download with questions to help further foster meaningful connections with your teamates! ⤵️

Click here to download this PDF called 30 Open-Ended Employee Engagement Questions. 🤝

Hey, thanks for being here and for watching/reading. My goal is to consistently create content that's engaging, applicable, and inspires you to continue learning and growing as a leader. If you have ideas for future content or any questions at all, please shoot me an email at: [email protected].