The Recording of this webinar will be shared here shortly after we conclude the webinar.
Introduction
Think about the following dynamics on your team from the past year:
The feedback you didn't give.
The teammate you stopped including after a difficult project.
The manager or colleague you've been meaning to have an honest conversation with.
Those moments don't disappear when the calendar changes. They follow people into new projects, new priorities, and new expectations.
The goal isn't to eliminate every disagreement before the year ends. Healthy teams will still have differences. What matters is whether people understand those differences and know how to work through them.
This webinar will help you use Cloverleaf to understand where a working relationship may need attention, prepare for a conversation you've been avoiding, and choose one action that makes collaboration better.
Start with the friction people are working around
Recognize the signals
Think about the people you work with, lead, coach, or support.
Which of these situations feels familiar?
Feedback is being postponed because the conversation feels uncomfortable.
Two people keep misunderstanding each other's intentions.
Decisions are taking longer because expectations aren't clear.
Someone has stopped contributing as openly as they used to.
Differences in communication or working styles are creating tension.
A previous disagreement is affecting how people work together now.
Everyone appears aligned, but the same issues keep returning.
Explore: DISCOVER
Use DISCOVER to explore a specific interaction rather than asking for general advice.
A specific question to try in Discover
"I'm preparing for a conversation with [name] about [specific situation]. Help me understand how our working styles might influence this discussion, what I should consider about my own approach, and how to create a conversation where we can both share our perspectives."
Use the actual person and relevant context available in your Cloverleaf experience.
Copy these things and put the insights below and put them in notes
Something I learned about my own approach
One adjustment I could make
Additional Questions Worth Exploring:
What differences in my communication preferences with [name] might be affecting [situation]?
How might myself and [name] approach feedback or disagreement differently and how can I work better with this person?
What might I need to adjust so [name] can engage more openly with me?
Which strengths could help myself and [name] work through [situation]?
Explore: Role Play
Use Role Play to practice a difficult conversation. The practice experience draws on behavioral assessment information to reflect characteristics of the person involved. However, the value happens in receiving an evaluation on your approach which can help you gain insight into your ability to respond and stay in tune with your colleague during the conversation.
Consider practicing:
Giving feedback you've delayed
Addressing a breakdown in collaboration
Asking for something you need from a manager or colleague
Discussing different expectations after a challenging project
As you practice, pay attention to where you become defensive, overexplain, avoid the point, or stop asking questions. It might look like:
I need to address an issue I’ve been avoiding discussing with my direct report, that they have been missing deadlines that have impacted our team’s ability to meet goals and it’s created friction with a number of team members.
Take time to review the evaluation
What do you notice about your approach?
What insight is most valuable to you?
Explore: Feedback
When your situation involves giving feedback, use Feedback to consider how to frame it for the person receiving it.
Feedback requests you can send
To address a recurring issue:
"I've noticed we've run into the same challenge a few times. Can you share with me what's making it difficult and what we could do differently?
To revisit a difficult project:
"I think some of what happened during this project is still affecting how we're working together. Can you share one thing I can do differently to help us work together better?
To ask for feedback:
"I want to understand how my approach has affected our work. Is there something I could do differently that would make collaborating easier?"
To name a difference without assigning blame:
"I think we're approaching our work together from different places. What do you think needs to change in our working relationship to be able to do our best work?
Think about it
How could this feature help with the issue identified earlier in the webinar?
Reinforce the Learning to RESET for Q1 : Coaching Topics
Coaching Topics connects a specific area for growth to continued coaching in the flow of work.
Choose a behavior you want to practice in an important working relationship. It might involve giving clearer feedback, asking more questions before making assumptions, managing disagreement, or sharing expectations earlier.
Try it now:
Create a new coaching topic now if you don’t have one already that will help support you with the area you identified at the beginning of the webinar.
As you continue into Q1, pay attention to Daily Personalized Coaching delivered through supported channels such as Slack, Teams, and email. Use relevant coaching insights to reinforce the behavior you committed to practicing.