A corporate workshop revealed something many leaders already suspect but few know how to address. More than 40% of employees are carrying significant personal challenges, including struggling children, grief, divorce, and financial stress. This article explores why managers avoid difficult conversations, the cost of silence in the workplace, and how organizations can better support employees through First Conversation Coaching.

The skill your organization is paying consultants to teach you — how to create psychological safety, notice what is not being said, respond without shutting someone down — is the exact skill your family is asking of you every day. A life preserver or an anchor. Your response decides which one you are.