It’s often difficult to have tough conversations with people, especially those we care deeply about. Susan Scott wrote Fierce Conversations, (The Penguin Group, 2002) about how to do just that—have a difficult or fierce conversation. Scott maintains that “the conversation is the relationship.” And, throughout the book, she makes this point—fiercely. Unfortunately, most of us have very surface-like conversations in our lives and never get down to the stuff that matters with the people who matter to us. Fierce Conversations teaches people how to have conversations they need to have, but don’t necessarily want to have. In the end, every conversation changes the relationship either for better or worse. And as tough as fierce conversations are to have, they build the relationship by surfacing important issues—the earlier the better.
More leadership book reviews by Steve Gladis can be found at http://www.survivalleadership.blogspot.com/
