Are you aware of any difficult conversations that you need to have with a team member or peer? You know you are uncomfortable with having the conversation, don’t really want to have it, are putting it off, and don’t quite know how to proceed?
Being presented with a food dish that has chilli in it might cause a similar sense of anxiety. You have a choice. You can eat the food or you can decline it. Choice. Your decision making process might go something like this: Will it be too hot? Will I break out in a sweat? Will it upset my stomach? Perhaps it will result in one or all of the above. Or none of it. Did you know that having a difficult conversation has similar benefits to that of eating chilli?
Here are three benefits:
- Chilli is high in vitamins and therefore boosts the immune system. Having the difficult conversation is an opportunity to restore a relationship to one of mutual understanding
- Chilli clears blocked sinus. Blockages in teams are often caused by lack of trust, different expectations and misperceptions. Talking it out with openness and honesty creates clarity among both parties.
- The most important perhaps, is that chilli adds flavour. Without it in a curry, one often feels that something is missing… So, without biting down into the conversation with your team member, you will constantly feel that something (a connection, understanding) is missing.If you want to grow yourself and your team…go on…eat the chilli!