Touchy, embarrassing subjects. Disciplinary issues. Bad performance reviews. There's no way around tough conversations. No one likes conflict, but avoiding conversations only makes matters worse. So, leaders have to get through them.
First step: Conquer your fears.
Business used to be conducted at a conference table, on the golf course or over drinks. Though this is still commonplace, more and more business is being done online.
"FAM trips are not a personal vacation," notes Lorene Romero, founder of Sharp Tongued Consulting. Suppliers invest huge amounts of money, time and work into educating travel professionals on their destinations through FAM trips—and they are excellent opportunities to build itineraries and help sell tours.
We've all seen it happen. A co-worker comes into work storming angry; mouth turned down in a frown; walks through the office without saying hello to anyone; sits down at his desk and starts barking orders to his co-workers; doesn't come out of his office; and when his phone rings he picks it up and bellows out: "Yea?"
The # (pound) sign took on a new meaning 10 years ago when designer Chris Messina first tweeted it as a hashtag character, asking his followers how they felt about "using # (pound) for groups." Ever since, hashtags have been used to connect individuals and groups into broader conversations on popular topics and world events.