Behind the problems that regularly plague families, teams and organi- zations are individuals who either can’t or won’t deal with failed promises. The reason is that they’re afraid to talk face to face about difficult but important issues — and as their fear of confrontation prevents them from resolving these issues, simple problems grow into chronic problems.

By learning how to deal with challenging confrontations, you’ll learn to avoid the typical, but unconstructive, response of slipping either into awk- ward silence or embarrassing violence.

Mastering crucial confrontations requires a skill set. In Crucial Confrontations, consultant Kerry Patterson and executive coach Joseph Grenny join forces with their fellow researchers and trainers Ron McMillan and Al Switzler to help others develop the skills it takes to resolve the most pressing problems, including quality violations, safety infractions, cost-cutting mistakes, and medical errors. The authors write that their research shows that most organizations are losing between 20 and 80 percent of their potential performance because they have not mas- tered crucial confrontations.

The skills for mastering crucial confrontations can be learned; the authors of Crucial Confrontations show you how.

+ How to master your emotions.

+ How to describe problems in ways that don’t cause defensiveness.

+ How to motivate others without using threats.

+ How to deal with violated expectations without harming relationships.

+ How to talk to your direct reports face to face when they don’t live up to a commitment.

+ How to help others want to take action.