Navigating Difficult Conversations with Empathy

Here’s how you start a difficult conversation the right way. You show up and you say:

‘I need to have a hard conversation. I’m nervous because I don’t want to say the wrong thing

or hurt anyone.’ Then you add this: ‘But having this conversation matters more than my fear,

and I want us to work through it together.’ That one sentence changes everything.

It creates safety. It shows humility. And it opens the door to real progress. These aren’t personality

traits — they’re skills. And when we teach the skills of empathy, we create better

leaders. Because at the end of the day, leadership isn’t about avoiding hard

conversations. It’s about having them with honesty, respect, and care.”