Performance & Culture • 8 MIN READ
Difficult Conversations: A Manager's Guide to Addressing Performance and Behaviour
JUN 6, 2026
Avoiding difficult conversations is the single most common management failure. Here is a practical framework for having them well.
Why managers avoid difficult conversations
The most common reason managers avoid difficult conversations is not malice or laziness: it is discomfort with conflict and uncertainty about how to conduct the conversation without making things worse. Many managers have never been trained in how to address underperformance or problematic behaviour constructively. They fear the employee's emotional reaction, worry about damaging the relationship, or are uncertain whether the issue is serious enough to raise formally. The result is that problems are allowed to persist and escalate until they are far more difficult to resolve than they would have been if addressed early.
The CORBS framework
A practical framework for difficult feedback conversations is CORBS: Context (describe the specific situation objectively, not generally), Observation (describe what you observed, not what you infer about the person's motivation), Result (describe the impact of the behaviour on the team, the work, or the customer), Behaviour (focus on what the person did, not who they are), and Suggestion (describe specifically what you would like to see differently). This framework keeps the conversation grounded in observable facts rather than judgements and makes it much easier for the employee to hear and act on the feedback.
What HR can do to help
HR can help managers have better difficult conversations by providing training in the skills required before a specific conversation is needed, offering to prepare with a manager before a difficult conversation and debrief with them afterwards, and providing template frameworks and checklists that reduce the preparation burden. When conversations involve formal performance management or disciplinary processes, HR should be involved early enough to ensure the process is procedurally correct, not called in at the point of crisis when options are already limited.
