The Need for Executives to Value the Power of Vital Conversations

Most inventions emerge from necessity. People experience a real-life problem, and along with it the need for a solution. When Beverly Helton experienced firsthand the damage that results from a breakdown in workplace communication, she knew something needed to change.

Beverly had worked as an account executive early in her career. After declining assistance from her manager on a major account deal, she was unable to close the deal and lost the business. The results were disastrous. Her manager was so angry that he shut Beverly out and hardly spoke to her for nearly six months.

“Instead of coaching to help me improve in the future, he avoided all communication with me. What was the cost to the company as a result of this lack of open and direct communication over the next few months? How much more business would I have brought in if I did not feel a need to tip-toe around my boss, or if my boss would have reached out to me to resolve the problem?” Beverly asked.

“I didn’t have the support I needed to close other deals. My manager wasted time, avoiding me even as we passed in the hallways. He theoretically lost a member of his sales team since I never knew when I might be fired and would need to find a new job. I started looking elsewhere and was less focused on my work. Additionally, other employees in the company didn’t want to appear loyal to me and lose good favor in the eyes of the manager,” Beverly recalls.

Creating a communications barrier resulted in a stressful period for everyone involved leading to an estimated loss of $2,000,000 in potential gross sales. Executive Coaching is the fastest method to reverse the negative communication pattern of building a barrier. Developing the skills needed to have safe, productive Vital Conversations is essential to business success.