WORKSHOPS

The Courageous Communicator™: Building Cultures of Candor and Care

Most leadership problems are conversation problems.

Difficult conversations are where leadership happens, but most people have never been taught how to navigate them.

The Courageous Communicator™ is a workshop that helps leaders and teams communicate with clarity, courage, and care. Participants learn how to untangle their thinking, speak honestly about what matters, and listen in ways that strengthen trust and accountability.

The result is stronger relationships, healthier team cultures, and the confidence to address important issues directly rather than avoiding them.

What Participants Learn

The workshop combines two essential capabilities: inner clarity and outer communication skill.

Part 1: Mindshift Mastery

Five Steps to Untangle Your Thinking

Before we can communicate clearly, we need to see clearly. This section focuses on the mindsets that allow people to move from reactivity to grounded leadership.

Participants learn to:

  • Come Back to Center First — Recognize reactive states and pause before responding.
  • Find Your Deeper Truth — Clarify what you genuinely feel, care about, and want.
  • Remember You Are Powerful — Shift from complaint to agency by turning problems into requests.
  • Be More Curious — Separate facts from interpretations and become genuinely curious about other perspectives.
  • Make It Meaningful — Approach difficult moments as opportunities to demonstrate who you are at your best.

Part 2: The Courageous Communicator Method

Speaking and Listening that Build Trust

Participants learn a practical framework for expressing themselves clearly while creating space for others.

  • Speak: Facts • Feelings • Opinions • Deeper Truth • Action
  • Listen: Silence • Inquiry • Summarize • Validate • Pause
  • Bombproof Commitments: Create clear agreements about who will do what by when — and repair breakdowns with integrity.

Outcomes

Participants leave with:

  • Confidence to speak up about difficult issues
  • Greater clarity about their own thinking and values
  • Stronger listening and relationship skills
  • Clearer commitments and accountability
  • Healthier team and organizational cultures

Formats

The workshop can be delivered in several formats depending on the needs of your organization.

Team Development + Facilitation

Ideal for leadership teams or intact groups, offsite or onsite. In addition to the learning the foundations of having hard conversations, we can also surface “undiscussables,” facilitate difficult conversations, and build a true sense of trust and solidarity among team members.

The process begins with team interviews to uncover what’s working and what isn’t. Onsite programs are one day. Offsites are typically two morning half-day sessions leaving afternoons open for team activities like hiking, skiing, or shared experiences. The workshop is followed by individual or group coaching to land the change.

Manager Development

An excellent foundation for manager training. Managers learn how to handle feedback conversations, conflict, accountability, and team dynamics with clarity and courage.

Leadership Development / Culture Change

Organizations run this program across multiple cohorts to build a shared communication culture. When teams share a common language for curiosity, candor, and commitment, collaboration and accountability improve dramatically.

Slow Conversations

A facilitated method for conflict resolution and helping leaders work out hard conversations in real time.

Public Open Enrollment

If your organization is not currently offering this training, you can take the course independently. Once a year I offer The Courageous Communicator™ as a public cohort through Maven.

The Cultural Habits Behind Strong Teams

The workshop reinforces five habits that support healthy team cultures:

  • Responsibility — Each person takes full responsibility for their responses and actions.
  • Curiosity — People genuinely seek to understand different perspectives.
  • Integrity — Individuals are committed to living their values.
  • Candor — People speak honestly while maintaining care and respect.
  • Commitments — Teams coordinate clearly around who will do what by when.
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