#GartnerSEC: How Security Leaders Can Navigate Difficult Discussions in the Enterprise
Speaking at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2019 in London Tina Nunno, distinguished VP analyst, Gartner, explored the difficulties security and risk managers can face in dealing with ‘political’ discussions in the workplace, and outlined strategies for navigating difficult conversations across a business.
Within an organization, politics and difficult conversations are “where the rubber hits the road,” Nunno said. “It’s in the face-to-face interactions where we are having some type of a conflict or we need to communicate something that’s quite difficult, and we need to survive it.”
Nunno explained that the desired outcome of any political or difficult conversation is to resolve issues constructively, establish a positive outcome for all involved and optimize the long-term relationship between the players.
To do that, Nunno outlined three paths that can be taken to navigate challenging workplace conversations, all of which build upon one another. These are de-escalation, synchronization and neutralization.
De-escalation requires you to strive to control the pace and tone of the discussion. “Creating calm and appeasement are two different things; with the first both win, and with the second both lose.”
She advised a four-step approach for mastering de-escalation in a difficult discussion, which includes Avoid, Ask, Engage and Calm.
Ask: uncover agendas, both hidden and stated. “Questions are a really powerful tool” and most people are loathed to ..
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