Leadership Roundtable Series | Navigating Difficult Conversations | Session 2

The hard conversation you keep putting off? It's costing you more than you think.

In Session 2 of The Path Less Traveled Leadership Roundtable, Craig Heatherly is joined by Laurie Nafziger (President & CEO, Oaklawn), Todd Yeoman (President, American Technology Components), and Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus (President, Goshen College) for an honest, unscripted conversation about navigating difficult conversations in leadership.

Key frameworks from this session:

• Clear is Kind — why directness is an act of respect, not aggression (Brené Brown, via Laurie)
• What You Permit, You Promote — silence is never neutral
• Anchor to Purpose, Not Feelings — how to stay steady when the room gets emotional
• Push Pause — slowing down isn't weakness, it's strategy
• Get Curious When They Get Furious — intense emotion signals deep caring
• Relationship Health = Response Time — the shorter the lag, the stronger the relationship

This session is sponsored by C12 West Michigan & Northern Indiana and Gibson.