Authentic Conversations

Moving From Manipulation to Truth and Commitment
By Jamie Showkeir and Maren Showkeir
Foreword by Margaret J. Wheatley

“This is as good as any book I have read about how to change the culture. It frames accountability in a powerful way and moves forward our thinking about how real change occurs… clearly and simply written… I highly recommend this book.”

Peter Block, author of Community: The Structure of Belonging

Find it hard to have “real” conversations at work? Join the club.

Traditional workplace conversations are often based on parent-child model. People hide facts, sugarcoat realities, and claim helplessness to try to control the interaction and get what they want. These types of interactions are not only are poisonous to workplace culture, but they can have a disastrous affect on business success. How then can workers—regardless of their rank, position or standing—begin to change office conversations to ones that promote mutual respect and productivity?

In Authentic Conversations workplace experts Jamie and Maren Showkeir propose an adult-adult conversation model. In this paradigm participants tell the truth, let go of the illusion of control and recognize that each person “owns” his or her own motivation. Calling for a “conversation revolution,” the Showkeirs draw on their 25 years of business and consulting experience to present a variety of examples of parent-child and adult-adult conversations in real-life work settings. They also explore the seven most difficult workplace conversations—from delivering distressing news to dealing with people problems—and provide hands-on advice and helpful sample scripts.

—over—

Other ideas and insights include:

  • The unseen influence of everyday conversations on workplace culture
  • Typical workplace conversations—the good, the bad, and the ugly
  • Why open, honest conversations are a scary prospect in most companies
  • The 12 most common manipulation techniques—and how to avoid them
  • Why having difficult conversations is easier than you think
  • The best way to deliver tough news—from announcing a major layoff to

introducing an unwelcome change

  • How to stop courting office cynics—and start changing the conversation

As the Showkeirs show readers, most business and workplace solutions are right under our noses— literally. Yet, everyday conversations—the creators and carriers of workplace culture—are seriously overlooked and underutilized in the majority of companies. Authentic Conversations shows how to start a “conversation revolution” and make authentic conversations the primary driver for commitment and change.

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Jamie Showkeir and Maren Showkeir are the principals of Henning-Showkeir and Associates, a consulting firm whose work centers on harmonizing the demand for business results with creating a culture where individuals can find meaning and purpose at work. Their clients include 3M, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, British Airways, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, Hewlett Packard, Levi Straus and The Nature Conservancy.

Authentic Conversations: Moving From Manipulation to Truth and Commitment
By Jamie Showkeir and Maren Showkeir
Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. / ISBN: 978-1-57675-595-2
Paperback Original / $18.95
Number of Pages: 240 / Publication Date: September 15, 2008

Jamie and Maren Showkeir are available for interviews. Please contact Peter Cavagnaro at (415) 743-6469 orfor any information about the authors or Authentic Conversations.