Scripts for difficult conversations: Giving hard feedback, navigating defensiveness, the three questions you shoul…
Scripts for difficult conversations: Giving hard feedback, navigating defensiveness, the three questions you should end every meeting with, more | Alisa Cohn (executive coach)How to navigate difficult conversations, give hard feedback, run better meetings, and more with executive coach Alisa CohnListen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments — Alisa Cohn is an executive coach who has worked with C-suite executives at startups like Venmo, Etsy, Wirecutter, and DraftKings, and Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, Dell, and IBM. Inc. Magazine named Alisa one of the top 100 leadership speakers, and she was named one of the Top 50 coaches in the world by Thinkers50 and the #1 startup coach for the past four years by Global Gurus. She is also the author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, which won the 2022 Independent Press Award and the American Book Fest 2023 Best Book Award for Entrepreneurship, and is the creator and host of a podcast of the same name. In our conversation, we discuss:
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/scripts-for-difficult-conversations-alisa-cohn Some takeaways:
Where to find Alisa Cohn: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn • Website: https://www.alisacohn.com • Podcast: https://www.alisacohn.com/podcast In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Alisa’s background (04:48) Having difficult conversations (12:48) Scripts for performance feedback (20:20) How to respond when someone is defensive or upset (25:07) Scripts for handling promotion disappointments (31:00) Scripts for handling terminations (35:44) The importance of positive feedback (38:49) Understanding your job as a leader (44:55) Recognizing your own blind spots (49:38) Three vital questions to ask in every meeting (55:57) The founder prenup (01:08:24) Failure corner (01:13:00) Final thoughts and lightning round Referenced: • Alisa’s free PDF downloads for Lenny’s listeners: https://www.alisacohn.com/Lenny/ • Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice • Non-Violent Communication (NVC) Model: https://www.ucop.edu/ombuds/_files/nvc-model-requesting-change-remove.pdf • Sheryl Sandberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652 • How embracing emotions will accelerate your career | Joe Hudson (executive coach, Art of Accomplishment): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/embracing-your-emotions-joe-hudson • Joe Gebbia on X: https://x.com/jgebbia • Noam Wasserman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noam-wasserman-462425 • Core Values List: https://jamesclear.com/core-values • How Cofounders Can Prevent Their Relationship from Derailing: https://hbr.org/2022/04/how-cofounders-can-prevent-their-relationship-from-derailing • Inside Out 2 on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/inside-out-2/6MeZYf9JkFii • Ninja CREAMi: https://www.amazon.com/Ninja-NC299AMZ-Milkshakes-One-Touch-Container/dp/B09QV24FFZ • Joseph Campbell quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/136819-if-the-path-before-you-is-clear-you-re-probably-on Recommended books: • From Start-Up to Grown-Up: Grow Your Leadership to Grow Your Business: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Up-Grown-Up-Grow-Leadership-Business/dp/1398601403 • Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375 • Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595 • Unpacking Amazon’s unique ways of working | Bill Carr (author of Working Backwards): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unpacking-amazons-unique-ways-of • Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Triumph-American-Imagination/dp/0679757473 Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. You're currently a free subscriber to Lenny's Newsletter. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
Inside Gong: How teams work with design partners, their pod structure, autonomy, trust, and more | Eilon Reshef (c…
Thursday, January 2, 2025
Gong CPO Eilon Reshef on their unique team pod structure, how pods work with design partners, his spiral method for mastering complex topics, and more ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Why great AI products are all about the data | Shaun Clowes (CPO Confluent, ex-Salesforce, Atlassian)
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Shaun Clowes on why PMs are often so bad, a different way to think about AI, building B2B growth teams, and more ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
🚨 Announcing: The inaugural “What’s in your stack?” survey
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Tracking the most commonly used (and beloved) tools in tech ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Top angel investors in the U.S.
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Inspiration for who to raise from when you're raising your early rounds ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Behind the founder: Marc Benioff
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on the beginners mind, AI, marketing, leadership, and life lessons from Steve Jobs ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
🚀 Amazon’s New Alexa, GitHub Security Concerns & Growth Tools You Need!
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Amazon's Alexa just got smarter, GitHub's privacy issues exposed, and Nvidia posts strong earnings. Plus, top tools like Basalt and Zapier Agents, and expert guides on PPC budgeting and AI
[SaaS Club] From High Churn to Profitable ABM SaaS
Thursday, February 27, 2025
The SaaS Club Newsletter ⚡️ Presented by Designli Hey Reader Here's a quick round up of what's been going on at SaaS Club: In this week's newsletter: 🎧 How churn and tragedy led to SaaS
NEW: The Future of Open vs Closed AI Models
Thursday, February 27, 2025
thought you would be interested Hi there, I'm Isabelle, Senior Editor & Analyst at CB Insights. I thought you'd be interested in this new briefing that dives into the evolving landscape of
I can't believe it happened again.
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Read time: 1 min 27 sec Hey guys, It happened again. Another Starter Story clone shut down this week. The founder emailed me constantly, asking for advice. Then, when he finally pulled the plug, he
Mistral alum seeks $80m
Thursday, February 27, 2025
+ Defence hackers all in on AI and drones; the UAE uni poaching European researchers View in browser Vanta_flagship Good morning there, As Paris settles down after hosting the who's who of AI last
📂 How NOT to raise prices
Thursday, February 27, 2025
(and how to do it right) ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Avoid costly mistakes & fast-track your ecommerce success—48 hours left
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Learn from the experts, skip the trial & error—last chance to save 85%. Hey Friend , Time's almost up! You have just 48 hours left to grab the biggest deal we've ever offered—85% off our
📂 How one startup gets PAID to acquire customers
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Turning government funding into a growth engine. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Growth Newsletter #242
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Grow by stacking S-Curves ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
18 Silicon Valley Startups Raised $851.1 Million - Week of February 10, 2025
Thursday, February 27, 2025
💕 Stanford HAI's First Open Virtual Assistant Workshop 💰 Top 10 Sovereign-Wealth Funds 👴🏼 Interview with Morris Chang 🤖 $16K Unitree G1 Robot 💡 Cathie Wood's Big Ideas 2025 Report ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏