Difficult Conversations is a very good book. I'd also recommend The Culture Map. Yes, you do want to have those conversations where you try to discover and wor

Difficult Conversations is a very good book. I'd also recommend The Culture Map. Yes, you do want to have those conversations where you try to discover and work through the reasons behind behavioral or performance problems. When communicating the problem, however, you often need to communicate expectations. Discussing and listening to feedback on the expectations is vital. But clarity in presenting your view of the problem is just as vital, so as to be talking about the same thing. The initial discussion I was responding to was about delivery of an assessment. You should have many conversations and observations before you reach the point of assessment. Once there, you've moved on to instigation of correction or improvement (either for you or for the other person, often both).