Billie Wright, MSML, SHRM-CP, PHR

Sometimes, it's all in the words you use when delegating tasks. Instead of delegating, reframe it as a professional development opportunity. As a leader, this is a perfect opportunity to help someone learn from you as well as enhance their own skills. It also shows that you trust that person enough to assign the task to them. When people can see how their work contributes to the bigger picture it's easier for them to support the task assigned to them and not look at it as just more work.

Before having any type of difficult conversation make sure that you are addressing the issue and not making it about you or the person. It is so easy to fall into the trap of labeling the issue as a difficult employee who always has an issue. Clearly evaluate the situation to identify if you have any biases with the issue and/or the person. If so, why? Stick to today's issue and not make it about yesterday. I used to teach Crucial Conversations and several things from this course come to mind: 1) What's your motivation for the conversation? and 2) What do you want for yourself, the other person and the relationship? Lastly, be kind. There may be unknown circumstances that are affecting the other party that may be at play.

At the end of the day, people just really want to know what's in it for me (WIIFM). Change impacts everyone differently because it may require that you change something about yourself or how you perform your work and that may be quite difficult to do. In every change initiative that I was a part of I always encouraged clear and transparent communication up front clearly explaining the "why" behind the change in order to give people time to digest the initiative, ask questions and encourage participation in the process. You want to make sure that people feel that the change is being done with them instead of to them. This alone will encourage active listening.

First, you've got to make sure that your Board understands the business, its mission, vision and values and its strategy to grow the business. Having served on three very different Boards, this was very helpful. The Board should definitely focus on the growth of the organization, its financial outlook and leadership accountability. I've found that accountability of the CEO and officers of the company often go unchecked by the Board, which impacts organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

You can never go wrong by simply asking the stakeholder why they are resistant to the change. It may be something very simple or they don't understand the benefits of the change or can't see themselves in it. People want to know what's in it for me (WIIFM). The goal is not to get 100% buy in. The goal is to get people to where they can live with and support the change.

The best way to prepare a new executive for the pressures of the role is to be open, honest and transparent about all of it. The worse thing that an employer can do is not share the "ugly" about the role upfront. If this is known beforehand then the executive at the very least understands and is aware of what they're working with from the get-go.