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Having Difficult Conversations with Staff
Description
Difficult conversations are an inevitable part of leadership. Whether addressing underperformance, challenging behaviour or professional boundaries, how leaders handle these conversations can either strengthen trust or erode it.
This practical two-hour course provides a clear framework for planning and leading difficult conversations with confidence and professionalism. Participants will explore how to prepare effectively, manage emotions (their own and others’), maintain clarity of message, and focus on solutions rather than confrontation. The session emphasises calm, purposeful dialogue that protects relationships while addressing issues directly.
Participants will leave with practical tools they can apply immediately in school settings.
Learning Outcomes
- Plan and structure a difficult conversation effectively.
- Communicate concerns clearly while maintaining professional respect.
- Manage emotional responses and reduce defensiveness.
- Follow-up conversations to support improvement and accountability.
Audience
- Senior Leaders
- Middle Leaders
- Heads of Department / Faculty
- Phase Leaders
- Line Managers
Presenter
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Costa Costantinou
Costa Constantinou co-founded Veema in 2013 after a long teaching career in London. He is driven by his passionate belief in the transformative power of education to create opportunities. Growing up in a migrant family, Costa embraced the significance of schooling from an early age. Having been deprived of education, his parents instilled a deep appreciation for learning.
Costa understands firsthand the needs and priorities of schools today. He has led national and international keynotes and workshops on improving teaching and learning, school leadership, and implementing and managing effective change. Costa passionately advocates that professional development is a requisite tool for teachers to engage with pedagogy, offer collaborative working partnerships, challenge and advance existing practice. Taken together, these sharpen our ability to focus on how we teach and how pupils learn — a reflective approach that, at its core, sees learning through the eyes of the learner.
Veema’s professional development and school improvement programmes empower teachers and school leaders worldwide, fostering continuous learning for the benefit of their students.
Publications: “A School Leader’s Guide to Leading Professional Development”