Constructive Conversations

Don’t spit the dummy: how to respond to critical feedback


How do you manage your reaction to something that hits you when you’re least expecting it? I was once hit in the stomach with a basketball that I didn’t see coming. It knocked the wind right out of me, and I instinctively yelled: “I’m going to tell my mother on you!” In my defence, I was eight years old and […]

Confessions of a conflict avoider: four tips for resolving conflict


Ever noticed how the so-called ‘festive season’ can play out more like an exercise in conflict management? It’s supposed to be the season to be jolly but often ends up stressful as interpersonal conflict gets driven to the surface by unrealistic expectations and misaligned assumptions. At a time when many people are wishing for ‘peace […]

Mind your language: how to give effective performance feedback


Performance feedback – it’s a phrase almost guaranteed to fill managers and employees alike with a sense of dread. That’s disturbing, but hardly surprising when you consider the negative way in which most feedback in the workplace is delivered. As a learning and development professional who passionately believes in quality performance conversations, I can’t emphasise enough […]

The colourful truth about working collaboratively


Birds do it. Bees do it. Even Justin Bieber and Karl Lagerfeld are doing it. Everyone’s talking about collaboration at the moment. Deloitte Access Economics estimates that the ‘collaborative economy’ (the value of greater workplace collaboration) is worth a staggering $46 billion in Australia alone. So much of this talk is focused on using the […]