Managers, beware of the 4 "D"s that can cause a tough conversation to go off the rails -- if you let it. Let's say you're talking with an employee who is consistently missing scheduled deadlines for projects, when that person responds with either denial, deflection, disruption or dumping on the boss (that's YOU!) Would you know what to do in each of those circumstances? If you don't, your responses could do more harm than good -- and not just to the other person. It could make you less effective. That's why Jill Geisler of the Poynter Institute shares tips for dealing with the 4 "D"s.
Learn more about difficult conversations and so much more in Jill's new book, "Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know" and her columns on Poynter.org
