Is there a difficult conversation in your near future? Is it with a team member?
Well duh, of course there is! Work with anyone long enough and there will be differences.
Set the tone for the interaction as collaborative with a positive statement such as: “I want us to work on this together” or “I’m confident we can figure out a solution.”
We’d like others to assume that we have positive intentions with our words and our actions. But you know what they say about assuming?
Don’t let others guess. Be clear about your expectations.