Motivational Conversation

Motivational conversations are in the first stage of Glasl’s Escalation Model. The model provides a structured approach to conflict resolution and emphasizes the importance of addressing conflicts in their early stages to prevent them from becoming more destructive and challenging to resolve.

With motivational conversations, you can maintain contact with employees and colleagues and build a stable foundation of trust.

Motivational conversations are for nurturing relationships. They can be informal and happen in passing. They don’t involve specific questions or problems, and certainly not criticism.

Motivational conversations are the cornerstone of effective leadership. You can use any interaction with your employees to strengthen the relationship through motivational conversations. Stephen Covey refers to this as “making deposits into the relationship account.”

At the core of a motivational conversation is the question:

“Is everything okay? Is it going well?” optionally followed by an offer of support: “Let me know if you need anything.”

Motivational conversations can be very brief or extend over lunchtime. They can take place “in passing” in the hallway, by the coffee machine, or in the elevator.

In the subtext, you are conveying to your employee: “I’m interested. I want to support you. My door is open. Feel free to talk to me.”

When such motivational conversations are established as a normal part of interactions, it becomes easier for all parties involved to address their questions and needs. Above all, it gives you as a leader the opportunity to initiate a conversation with a very low threshold if something is unclear or not going optimally.

Other choices of conversation styles include Feedback Conversation, Critique Conversation and Conflict Conversation.