The Cost of Avoiding Difficult Conversations | Why Speaking Up at Work Matters

Avoiding a Crucial Conversation can come with both a price and a cost. But what’s the difference between the two?

Scott Robley, VP of Learning Solutions at Crucial Learning, walks through research that shows forty-three percent of respondents estimate they waste two weeks or more ruminating about an unresolved problem at work. And an astounding one in three employees estimate their inability to speak up in a crucial moment has cost their organization at least $25,000.

Scott discusses the alarming cost of silence and shares skills people can learn to reclaim these penalties we incur from remaining silent in crucial moments. He teaches skills leaders and employees can learn to rethink the risks of speaking up and create a workplace culture where honest dialogue is expected. We all want to be comfortable, but avoiding Crucial Conversations can cost us far more in the long run.

Chapters [Start] Cost vs. Price: Scott introduces two ways of thinking about the conversations we avoid. 04:13 The Costly Conversations Research: What changed when Crucial Learning revisited its research five years later. 07:45 Counting the Cost: A look at what conversation avoidance can mean for people and organizations. 15:19 The Price of Speaking Up: Scott shifts from the costs of avoidance to what it takes to make a change. 26:02 Starting the Conversation: Why addressing organizational challenges ultimately requires dialogue.

Links and ResourcesCrucial Learning Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High Crucial Conversations ® for Mastering Dialogue Costly Conversations: Why Employee Silence Breaks Your Bottom Line Learn more about Scott Robley here.

The Crucial Skills Podcast is brought to you by the authors and experts at Crucial Learning, home of Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue and Crucial Conversations for Accountability training.