Help! I need to master critical conversations: How to communicate what you really think without ruining the relationship (Help for Engineering Management)

Have you ever worried about delivering truthful feedback at work? If you water down the message, the real issues do not get aired or understood. On the other hand, if the brutal truth is delivered, you may risk damaging your work relationships.

This book provides practical frameworks to plan and deliver a critical conversation in such a way that the brutal truth can be communicated while still maintaining good relationships. It is designed as a practical how-to guide with real-world examples tested in a business coaching environment.

Trevor Manning graduated with an Engineering degree prior to moving into Senior Management. His roles included: being Chief Engineer of a Telecommunication group in a large Electric Utility in South Africa; the Technical Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa in an American Wireless Manufacturer; the COO of an International Software company specialising in the optimisation of Cellular Telecom networks as well as his previous role as COO of an Australian Telecommunications carrier. On reaching board level, Trevor became acutely aware of the massive gap that often exists between what senior management - and company owners - think the staff are doing, and what they are actually doing. Trevor set up his own consultancy business (TMC Global) to help coach and train staff to align their activities and mindset to achieving business outcomes, and in doing so, also feeling empowered and motivated as they understand that leadership is required at all levels of the business, not just the C-suite. Working closely with predominantly technical people, helping them apply leadership principles and advanced communication skills in their daily jobs has helped shape the material in this book series. Apart from business coaching, Trevor also runs leadership training seminars for Oxford University (UK) and the University of Wisconsin (USA), as part of their continuing education programmes for engineers. Trevor is an Advisory Board member for Australia's largest private Telecommunications Wireless Operator, where he is also actively engaged in running innovation projects and coaching the executive team.