As leaders, at some point we will need to conduct a challenging or difficult conversation, even though we may want to avoid it, or we do not feel like having it. A core responsibility of a leader is to lean into that conversation, whether it be with a direct report, a peer, a manager, customer, external stakeholder, or even senior executive. Whilst we may never learn to enjoy it, we can develop competence and confidence by following some key principles and a simple framework.