Julie Gurner

How great leaders approach hard conversations

Dr. Julie Gurner

Executive performance coach & Founder of leading newsletter "Ultra Successful"

Having hard conversations is essential to building anything great...and avoiding them will make things worse.

Learn when to have hard conversations

Shift from "Me vs. You" to "Us vs. Problem" positioning to move from being adversaries to being collaborators.

How to position your conversation to avoid defensiveness

Allowing things to drag on takes up headspace and has you carrying unresolved problems for far too long.

Mentally overcome hesitations

Managers and leaders are not taught how to deliver feedback that changes behavior and drives performance. The result? Managers gets frustrated when people don't implement feedback and performance and business results suffer. It doesn't need to be this way. You can transform the way you manage and become the manager who shares direct feedback and drives results. You can get there in this course. You will become more confident and competent sharing feedback fearlessly. WHAT TO EXPECT: Tactics you can implement immediately. Sessions are loaded with lively discussion, breakout exercises, and a 27-page learning guide to both personalize and customize your learning experience. In just 3 sessions, you will have more tools in your tool belt to more effectively drive performance on your team. COURSE CONTENT: • How to speak candidly, and with care, using the Fearless Feedback Model• How to structure feedback using Headline, Observation, Ask• How to navigate reactions using HEAR• How to identify the core behavior needing to be addressed using Name It To Tame It• How to shift to a High Cadence, Low Stakes mental model• How to lay a foundation for feedback with the Relationship Kickoff Conversation• How to view feedback as information to be shared to help someone be their best• How to lead as a human with standards of excellence You can also expect: - A 27-page learning guide loaded with sample language, exercises, and reference materials to leverage well beyond the course- Videos modeling the Headline, Observation, Ask model- Video modeling how to navigate reactions to feedback- Video illustrating how to effectively kick off a feedback relationship with a new team member- Drafting feedback for real time situations you're facing How you view delivering feedback as a manager and leader will fundamentally change. You will have greater confidence and competence opening a feedback conversation, delivering direct and caring feedback, and navigating emotional reactions to your message. Invest in the skills that will truly elevate you and your team's business impact.

Drive stronger performance with actionable feedback.

Your fears and assumptions significantly impact the way you show up in a feedback conversation. When you don't feel confident, you beat around the bush. When you're worried about the reaction, you walk on egg shells. That's not conducive to impacting behavior change, nor is it kind to our team member. Let's set you up for success!

Mastering Your Feedback Mindset

Develop your ability to deliver valuable feedback leveraging the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Explore how feedback can and should escalate. Observe then practice real feedback situations. Walk away equipped to have the feedback conversations you've been putting off.

Delivering Effective Feedback Fearlessly

Even with best laid plans and intentions, feedback can still spark a reaction, let's get you ready! Simplify your approach by learning the HEAR model and then put it to work with real time practice.

Navigating Feedback Reactions

Course syllabus

Before our first session, you will have pre-session videos to view that will set us up for a strong discussion.

Pre-Work Videos & Materials

We kick off our course by exploring the impact Mindset and Relationship have on feedback delivery. Learn 1 core perspective shift, 3 mindset tactics, and then how to lead the Relationship Kickoff Conversation.

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

This will be the meatiest session with feedback model exploration and you'll walk away with new language and tools to immediately have more impactful conversations.

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Bring it all together with tools to handle reactions and even more practice and discussion to enable you to graduate as a Fearless Deliverer of Feedback.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Course schedule

You are a manager within a start-up &amp; pace of business can feel impossible to give real time feedback to both direct &amp; indirect reports.

You're a leader who finds yourself putting off feedback conversations out of dread, fear, or lack of confidence.

You are a manager wanting to elevate your career by distinguishing yourself as a developer of great talent.

Who will thrive in this courses:

What you can expect from this course:

You will practice addressing the hardest feedback conversations: giving feedback on defensiveness, lack of strategic thinking, a need for greater flexibility, and more. We're not practicing the easy conversations, we're focusing on the conversations we avoid most.

Practice the most difficult types of feedback conversations

Beyond the live sessions, you will walk away with an invaluable resource, the Deliver Fearless Feedback learning guide. Filled with the HOA framework, HEAR model for handling reactions, and 6 examples of sample feedback.

27-page learning guide packed with frameworks and sample langauge

You will adopt the Fearless Feedback Model and learn to operate at the intersection of Mindset, Relationship, and Delivery. These combined enable a manager and leader to say what needs to be said to help someone achieve their highest impact.

Begin delivering difficult feedback fearlessly

You'll learn to streamline your feedback using the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Each step will empower you to strategically engineer a more positive and productive reception, and perception, of your feedback.

Deconstruct the core elements of successful feedback conversations

When someone provides excuses, cries, or gets defensive, you will be equipped with the HEAR model. You will learn to stay true to your north star and not get sucked into tennis match type conversations.

Develop your ability to successfully handle reactions to feedback

You will create a new internal narrative on what it means to deliver tough feedback. You will feel empowered to engage, discuss, and share feedback that will help your people be their best, and help you drive a culture you're proud of.

Increase your confidence & competence

You will elevate to your next level of management and leadership by distinguishing yourself as someone who fearlessly develops your people to reach their best version of themselves.

Distinguish yourself as a developer of people

Transform your management by driving stronger performance through direct and actionable feedback.

Katie Ceccarini

October 2024

January 2025

These are all the things that are possible when you learn to have hard conversations that are both honest (from your perspective) and also genuinely caring of the person you are speaking to. Relying on the Lao Tzu principal that, “The best way to do is to be," the first half of the workshop focuses on shifting&nbsp;essential mindsets before mapping out the speaking and listening&nbsp;required for better conversations, better relationships, and better results at work and beyond. The end-result is a step-by-step system for how to untangle one’s thinking, speak up, and listen to understand.

Suffer less. Have better relationships. Get more done. 


Noticing when you're in a reactive state and committing to doing nothing until you have come back to center. That thing you feel compelled to do? Don’t do that thing!

Come Back to Center First


Reflecting deeply on how you feel and what you really care about.&nbsp;

Find Your Deeper Truth


Shifting the focus from outer circumstances to what you want and what you can do about it. Turning all complaints into requests.

Remember You Are Powerful


Rigorously separating facts from inferences. Becoming more curious about how others legitimately see things differently.

Be More Curious


Turning meaningless stuffing into a meaningful trial or initiation by making every challenging conversation a chance to demonstrate who you are at your best.

Make it Meaningful


Facts, feelings, opinion, deeper truth, suggestion. Expressing yourself with honesty and care, both.

Speak Up


Silence, inquire, summarize, validate, pause.&nbsp;Listening to understand, not to convince.

Listen to Understand


Developing obsessive clarity around who is going to do what by when. Managing breakdowns with integrity.

Bombproof Commitments


February 24


February 25, 26, 27


February 28


March 28


Pre-work and homework


Anyone who wants to suffer less and feel more freedom around difficult situations and conversations

Anyone who finds themselves ruminating or worrying about things they are thinking but don't know how to say

Anyone who has no problem speaking their mind, but often gets feedback that they can be too blunt or even harsh

Who this course is for


What you’ll get out of this course

A step-by-step framework for how to untangle your thinking, speak up about anything, and listen to understand


Confidence to speak up about anything important in a way that’s clear, sincere, caring, and aligned with your values. 


Stronger relationships and healthier team/organizational cultures


Increased individual awareness, productivity, happiness and wellbeing.


How to speak up about anything, at work and beyond.


Jenna Buffaloe, J.D., M.A. 


Speaker, Workshop Leader and Executive Coach 


Cohort 3

Cohort 4

COURSE CONTENT:8 Hours over one weekend, and 2 bonus hours before and after, combining presentations and case studies, interactive exercises in small groups and self reflection time. OVERVIEW: You are already comfortable managing others, but to get to the next level of leading large teams, you are aware that you need to be able to identify and drive transformative opportunities for the business, assess and lean into the risks associated with them, overcome your own fears of putting your ideas on the line, and inspire followership from others. You also know that this level of leadership can be exhausting - and require resilience in the face of push back or results taking longer to achieve than you hoped. Its tempting to "put off" the time it takes to work on these topics, but if you can invest the time now, it will make your leadership impact, visibility and effectiveness significantly stronger, by not having your own fears, or perceived weaknesses getting in your way. KEY TOPICS INCLUDED: 1. Establish your leadership advantage.- How to stop comparing yourself to others and instead lean into your own unique strengths as a leader- How to overcome imposter syndrome and tap into your courage to be confident leading at a higher level- How to get comfortable admitting what you don't know - and inviting others in to help as your support system to grow your confidence- How to get comfortable leading others on a larger team who's functional skills are outside your own knowledge and/or who have more age/experience than you- How to inspire and influence others to come along with ideas you are championing 2. See the opportunities that others won't. - Finding the gap - how to leverage foresight instead of hindsight in the pursuit of breakthrough strategies- How and when to tap into your instincts, when data isn't available for decision making- How to understand when a breakthrough opportunity is achievable with your team and your resources 3. Overcome your fears.- How to understand what holds you back from making bold moves- How to understand your tolerance for risk in relation to others to get confident to make more transformative moves- How to bounce back and recalibrate when things do not go as you expect 4. Navigating the politics. - How to get the confidence to invite dissent and assess the input and feedback from others who do not support your bold moves- How to go from trying to "convince" others, to "co-creating the future" with others.- How to read the room and ensure peer and team discussion is transparent and constructive- How to react when you know colleagues are not supporting your plans- How to make decisions when your team are disagreeing with each other and need you to break the tie 5. Fuel your endurance. - How to understand your unique energy needs to ensure that you prevent burnout during times of great stress- How to understand the different energy needs of others on your team so that you can work together to meet the collective team's needs 6. Build a culture of high performance fun.- How to leverage your own unique style to inspire others and build authentic followership- How to set your team "house rules" to establish a culture of high expectations and high results- How to build an inclusive team that is comfortable with dissent This is a course that is designed to get you out of your comfort zone. To get to the senior levels, it is not enough to deliver on your own existing KPIs, it requires you signaling that you are the kind of leader that is proactive and has courage, conviction and the ability to influence. This course will get you out of the text book and in to real life examples to "road test" how you would react. Course material and advice is based on real life case studies from Sarah's business experience moving from a manager of a small team of 5 individual contributors at one company, and then moving her way up to leading the complete transformation and turnaround of the $5Bn global Gatorade business less than 10 years later. Sarah is a proven coach and developer of talent, having managed teams as small as 5 and as large as 15,000. She led the reinvention and turnaround of the $5Bn Gatorade business as its global president, before leading the digital transformation of Equinox Fitness Clubs as president. Sarah has also taught workshops to over 500 young professionals, with an average NPS rating in the 60s. TESTIMONIALS FROM STUDENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN SARAH'S IN PERSON WORKSHOPS "It was a really fun two days taking the time to reflect on really important "stuff" that I normally don't make time for. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day grind of work without pausing to take that time to check in with yourself. I'm also rarely surrounded by such an inspirational group of people who have relevant complementary skillsets and experiences to my own. I find that hearing others' goals pushed me to think bigger and take on even more. Thank you!Head of Client Services for an Innovation Agency "Loved this! Will definitely recommend to friends. Loved the interactive exercises - especially the debate one and the compliment one. The discussion about my blind spots (figure out weaknesses and the anti-you) was SO helpful. The group made me think about things I never would have realized. Exercise about pain training was so helpful and almost therapeutic to hear others fears and commiserate."Product Leader "I loved it. Great format with lots of variety. I came away feeling motivated to make change, supported by those around me, and inspired by everyone in the room. I would be most likely to recommend this to someone who has been considering a leap, or who has tangible goals in mind."Director of Strategy "This was a great experience. It flew by, which doesn’t happen with these types of workshops. I really liked the layout of content and the perfect combination of case studies and larger group talk. You created a safe space for everyone to be vulnerable, supportive, encouraging and excited."Director Programming and Operations "Very challenging, ahead of the game and awe-inspiring workshop."IT Strategy Consultant

An interactive weekend immersive, that  uses real situations to teach students.


Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Pre course meet n greet session for students

Friday December 6th


<ul><li>All sessions are recorded</li><li>Students have lifetime access</li></ul>

Saturday December 7th and Sunday December 8th


Post course office hours for students

Friday December 20th


You have 8-10 years of experience and aspire to, or have landed your first leadership role with a large team and want to assert your vision

You are shifting from managing individual contributors to leading through managers and you want to create a culture of high performance fun

You need to step onto a bigger leadership stage and want to know how to establish your vision to make transformative high impact moves

Who is this course for

By reviewing insights from personality inventories and peers, you'll establish a clear framework that you can turn back to that articulates your most confident leadership style so that you can cultivate courage to lead others with skills and experiences beyond your own.

Confidence and strength to lead. Identify your competitive advantage as a leader to leverage your strengths and support your weaknesses.


Through an interactive exercise, you will explore the differences in your unique style for thinking and sharing your ideas, so you can develop your plan to create a culture of high performance with others, to help you drive high impact results.

Insights on building a high performing team. Understand how your style best plays, to improve your ability to get results through others.


Through an interactive case study based game, you will learn how to hone your instincts, and when to use them to see opportunities that others can't so that you are able to break through and add value to the business that others may not.

Strategies for identifying opportunities for growth. How to find the gap - and see opportunities for yourself, your team and your company.


Through a framework for group discussion, you will develop an understanding of your tolerance for risk in relation to others, and you will develop a personal strategy for overcoming your fears of making mistakes, which is critical when leading at the senior level.

Methods for facing your fears. Analyze what holds you back and establish strategies for risk taking, that enable you to drive change.


Through real life case studies you will learn how to navigate politics, influence others, turn to team mates for support when your fears kick in, and develop a willingness to admit that you don't have all the answers - a requirement for creating followership of large teams.

Techniques for top down and bottom up communication. How to get buy in, navigate politics and influence stakeholders to support your vision.


You will participate in an interactive case study assignment to teach you how to assess the long range viability of your greatest transformational moves, as it is critical at the senior level to understand how to evolve and sustain your biggest ideas.

Clear understanding of social cues. Apply a framework to know when to play harder, to pivot or to walk away from ideas you have championed.


You will spend time understanding your own needs around health, wellbeing and energy management so that you can prevent burnout. You will develop a framework to create a set of commitments to yourself that ensure you're endurance for the long leadership road ahead.

Strategies for sustaining yourself. How to establish the unique rituals that you will need to prioritize your own health and wellbeing.


Learn to lead boldly, assess risks, and drive change. Gain confidence to inspire large teams and seize breakthrough leadership opportunities


Sarah Robb O'Hagan

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

We believe that a response to disruptions requires a mindset change to set aside old ways of working and envision life on the other side of the disruption; then work backwards to the capabilities required to realize your vision. This course navigates that process.&nbsp; In this course, you will learn the "what" "why" and "how" of meeting adaptive challenges. You will have more than 4 hours of direct access to the faculty, plus the opportunity to engage members of the cohort and learn from them.&nbsp;Following the course, you and your team will be prepared to apply the framework thinking to your conditions and context.

Focus, align and activate the work of leaders

<ul><li>Meet your faculty and cohort members</li><li>Get the most from this program</li><li>Expand your leader agency</li><li>Learn to identify and address adaptive challenges</li><li>Learn about the Framework for Adaptive Leadership and how to benefit from it</li><li>Prepare for an intersession project</li></ul>

Welcome and Orientation 

<ul><li>Learn to put Purpose and Values to work for you</li><li>Make Purpose and Values real with Vision</li><li>Provide leaders with premade choices and decision principles to accelerate and align their choices</li><li>Delegate negotiated Goals from the executive level to the front line</li><li>Prepare for an intersession project</li></ul>

Adaptive Challenges need Adaptive Leaders

<ul><li>Open Q&amp;A with the faculty on the framework and how to use it</li></ul>

Optional Deep Dive

<ul><li>Connect the dots from Purpose to Strategies</li><li>Describe Capabilities to address your challenge</li><li>Learn how Capabilities carry out Mission</li><li>Learn to model your organization as a set of Capabilities</li><li>Assess Capability performance to suggest a project agenda</li><li>Manage alignment from Mission to Results</li><li>Share and celebrate your efforts and learning</li></ul>

Adaptive Challenges need Adapted Capabilities

Introduction to the Framework for Adaptive Organizations

Monday, Jan 14, 2025 - Live Session 1

<ul><li>Adaptive Challenges need Adapted Capabilities</li></ul>

Monday, Jan 21, 2025 -Live Session 2
 

Professionals who are using &amp; teaching the concepts &amp; tools of Adaptive Leadership to advance progress on tough organizational challenges

HR Leaders who want to build organization leadership capability

PMs, SMEs, and other leaders who want to expand their agency and accelerate team productivity

<ul><li>Integrate key statements: Purpose, Values and Vision to define a future state.</li><li>Explain to others how key premade decisions guide leaders’ actions</li><li>Relate Projects and Processes to the Capabilities required by the future state</li></ul>

A framework and practices that orchestrate strategy to results 

<ul><li>Develop common language and shared mindset</li><li>Apply shared methods to accelerate decision-making and aligned action; even when working apart</li><li>Frame “big questions” to manage up and move forward&nbsp;</li></ul>

A method to rapidly focus, align and activate teams

<ul><li>Start from an idealized future state</li><li>Develop and assess capabilities required to realize and adapt to a moving future state</li><li>Explore the talent, process, technology and cultural aspects of capabilities</li></ul>

The ability to connect the dots for aligned actions

Disruptions are inevitable. Acquire a Framework that connects aspirations and intentions to capabilities needed to realize the future state.

Lightning Lessons

How great leaders approach hard conversations