Difficult Conversations and Repair
Teams leave able to name the pattern they keep falling into, and with a repair procedure they have run at least once in the room.
At a glance
- Audience
- Managers, or whole intact teams
- Duration
- Half day (3 hours), or full day (6 hours) with extended practice labs
- Format
- On-site across the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario, or virtual
- Group size
- Capped at 25
- Price
- From $1,600 per half day and $2,600 per full day. Virtual delivery priced lower.
What this covers
Decades of observational research identified the specific interaction patterns that predict a relationship breaking down, and those patterns hold in staffrooms and project teams as reliably as anywhere else. Participants learn to recognise all four in their own behaviour, then practise repair as a procedure rather than an apology. Delivered to an intact team, the session works on the patterns that team actually has, which is more useful and considerably more uncomfortable.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this session, participants can:
- Name the four interaction patterns that predict a working relationship breaking down
- Catch one of those patterns in their own behaviour mid-conversation and substitute a different move
- Run a repair conversation using a defined structure, having completed one in the session
- Raise a difficult issue without triggering defensiveness, using a tested opening
- Distinguish a conflict that needs repair from one that needs a decision from a manager
- Recognise when a situation has become a harassment matter and route it to the organisation's process
Session outline
| Time | Segment |
|---|---|
| 0–25 min | What predicts breakdown. The observational research, and why it transfers to teams. |
| 25–65 min | The four patterns. Recognising them in yourself, which is the difficult half. |
| 65–80 min | Break |
| 80–140 min | Practice labs. Repair conversations in threes, with an observer and structured feedback. |
| 140–165 min | Raising the hard thing. Tested openings, rehearsed. |
| 165–180 min | The line. When this stops being conflict and becomes a policy matter. |
The full day adds extended practice labs using situations the team brings, and a facilitated segment on the patterns specific to that team. Intact-team delivery is agreed with the organisation in advance, including what will and will not be raised in the room.
What participants receive
- A workbook including the four patterns and the repair structure as a single-page reference
- A certificate of completion showing contact hours
- A reference summary suitable for inclusion in the organisation's training records
What this is built on
This is a training session. It is not counselling, assessment, or treatment. Content draws on Gottman Method research and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and is aligned with CSA Z1003.
Request this program
Tell us your organization and roughly what you're working with. You'll get a reply within one business day.