The number one indicator of a lack of courage is an inability to have hard conversations.
Hard conversations are scary. Our hearts start pounding, our tummies clench, our mouths go dry.
Hard conversations feel dangerous. If I say this thing, he’ll be offended! She’ll be angry! I’ll get in trouble!
Hard conversations are tempting to avoid. Nobody else is mentioning these elephants. Why should I?
But what if you were great at them?
What would it mean for your relationships?
What would it mean for your career?
What would it mean for your life?
The Framework
Hard conversations require a three-element strategy to lay the foundation, and a three-element strategy to have the conversation.
Simple — but not easy. Each element requires a commitment to being constructive rather than right. Each one invites us to be self-aware, generous, humble and clear.
Taken together, these elements form the foundation of conversations that leave you feeling
relieved, not resentful
energised, not exhausted
confident, not cowardly.
These are the conversations you’ve been wanting to have and meaning to have.
They’ve been waiting for you.
But first, a quick word on how we got here.
In 2019, our founder and CEO, Kaila Colbin, trained with Dr Brené Brown to facilitate the Dare to Lead™ curriculum. In the past six years, she’s taken more than 4,000 people through programmes to grow courage as a core competency.
This framework is based on Kaila’s insights from that work: from the questions that come up over and over, the repeated challenges that arise, and the clear patterns in what works.
It’s a framework that can be used in any environment to improve communication, connection and belonging.
