Episode 170: Putting Grace in the Space with Beth Wonson

My guest today threw a crazy stat at me in this conversation: 99% of employees want feedback, however 75% of managers don’t like giving feedback.

I feel like if you could talk about some of the challenges that are faced in organisations today, you could relate it back to this one statistic.

Toady we’re talking about feedback and I’m joined by Beth Wonson from NCDsolution.com. This is a quasi episode mixing up two topics:

1) Feedback conversations - how to get better at having them

2) Facilitation: In particular, how to centre yourself before a workshop, and what you do when you receive negative feedback about your workshop - you know that negative bias we all have?

What I love about Beth’s work is the simplicity of what she shares, and how applicable it can be to you - If you know you’e been avoiding feedback for some time, this is a great opportunity and reminder on how to normalise giving and receiving feedback, and taking away that stigma attached to it.

About our Guest: Beth Wonson

Since 2015, Beth Wonson, CEO and Founder of Navigating Challenging Dialogue®, has coached hundreds of C-suite professionals in Fortune 500s and the non-profit sector to have meaningful, drama-free conversations. Beth has worked in the various industries holding roles including CEO and COO.

Beth founded Navigating Challenging Dialogue in 2015 out of frustration for the ways in which traditional leadership skills fail the mission and goals of organizations. Beth realized one of the most critical needs was an awareness of the importance of emotional self-management.  

By exploring how our brains work, Beth recognized how emotions and thinking errors impact our ability to create positive work environments. By applying what she learned into her practice with clients, she developed the process of Navigating Challenging Dialogue. 

The four-stage NCD Process is for managing yourself and your ability to communicate effectively with curiosity and clarity. The NCD Process is unique in that it is successful in any place where human interaction is critical.

People who work with Beth learn to end miscommunication mishaps, chaos, and costly conflicts. In turn, they create a culture that fosters greater employee satisfaction, retention, and performance. Grounded in proven methods of self-management, Beth’s proprietary process, Navigating Challenging Dialogue, guides leaders to communicate directly and effectively while strengthening their company’s fundamentals.

The mission of Beth Wonson & Company is to bring Navigating Challenging Dialogue to everyone who wants to have meaningful, drama-free dialogue. We provide leadership coaching, consulting, and training rooted in the NCD Process so our clients are able to stop wasting valuable resources through miscommunication, unhealthy conflict, and unnecessary drama.

In this episode you will learn:

  • How to master getting feedback during workshop

  • Identifying feedback and ensuring it is fact-based

  • How to normalise the process of giving feedback, and using it as an opportunity to provide support

  • How to regulate your emotions when you receive feedback

  • How to be responsible for the energy you bring to the room

Here are some questions I asked Beth during the conversation:

  • Can you share your process of working with leaders and have them take action on getting feedback?

  • As recipients of feedback, should we take on all feedback given to us… Or should we be selective from who we listen to?

  • What’s your advice for handling our negative bias?

  • How do you deliver feedback online as it’s not as fluid as face-to-face? 

  • What would be the next step in normalizing giving feedback?

  • How do you personally prepare for a workshop?

Resources Mentioned:

Watch the video interview below:

About your host: Leanne Hughes

Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.

She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.

Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development.  She has over 14 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.

She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.

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Episode 171: Turning a monologue into a dialogue with Johnny Quinn

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Episode 169: How to get your groups to spot (and share) their stories with David Pullan