The Importance of Putting Feedback into Action by Violet Dhu

Feedback is like a guide, helping us improve our personal and professional lives. It’s like a mirror, reflecting our strengths and areas to improve. But we need more than just getting feedback; we need to know how to use it effectively. Feedback is a powerful tool, but its value becomes evident when we implement it. Let’s delve deeper into why …

Becoming an Assertive Leader: The Key to Effective Communication and Impactful Leadership by Violet Dhu

Assertiveness is a crucial trait for effective leadership, yet it often gets a bad reputation. People tend to associate assertiveness with being pushy or overbearing, but in reality, assertiveness is a vital tool in the leader’s toolbox.  From clearly communicating expectations to advocating for necessary resources and giving honest feedback, assertiveness allows leaders to effectively guide their teams and achieve …

How Feedback Can Help You Achieve Growth by Violet Dhu

Feedback is vital to the health and culture of any organisation. When we are open to feedback, we become aware of our performance, and we learn and understand our behaviour and actions. This knowledge and awareness can help us understand and appreciate how our behaviour and performance may impact others. It is often the most powerful route to positive change …

Assertive Limit Setting, a tool to use when having difficult conversations by Violet Dhu

Difficult conversations are a normal part of our working life, especially in management or leadership positions. We need to give feedback, say no, have performance discussions and be assertive at times. And when faced with these difficult conversations, we sometimes go softly, use gentle persuasion or even avoid the conversation altogether.  However, sometimes, that is not sufficient. Sometimes we need …

The Cost of Not Being Able to Say No by Violet Dhu

A lot of people have difficulty saying No. In fact, many will agree that it is easier to just say yes, in most situations. And this “saying yes” happens on a daily basis in many workplace environments. There are various reasons why people say Yes when they really want to say No. It might be because they want to be …

Using Dissension, Discussion, and Divergence to Create Psychological Safety by Violet Dhu

Psychological safety is an important aspect of effectively handling difficult conversations. It is important in saying no, giving feedback, providing criticism, and delivering bad news.  If the recipient of this difficult message does not feel safe, they may reject the message, feel like they are being bullied or have been treated unfairly. If they don’t feel psychologically safe during the …