• Address issues directly and early, replacing polite avoidance with clear, respectful candor that drives action and accountability.
• Stay grounded and effective in uncomfortable conversations by recognizing emotional triggers and responding with intention rather than defensiveness.
• Deliver feedback and set boundaries with clarity and confidence, strengthening trust while holding people accountable for results.
• Establish team norms where honest dialogue is expected, ensuring diverse perspectives are surfaced, challenged, and acted upon.

You'll also walk away with recognized continuing education credits (CPE and SHRM), a certificate of completion, and a shareable digital badge for LinkedIn or other platforms. These can highlight your expertise to your manager and help strengthen your professional profile.

What if the leadership behavior most praised in organizations-being "nice" is also one of the biggest barriers to progress?

Many leaders mistake politeness for professionalism and harmony for effectiveness. In reality, excessive niceness often silences truth, preserves outdated power dynamics, and prevents teams from addressing the issues that matter most. Avoiding discomfort may keep things calm in the moment—but it also stalls innovation, erodes trust, and limits inclusion.

Amira Barger challenges leaders to rethink their relationship with discomfort and offers a practical, psychology-informed approach to courageous communication. Using real-world examples, interactive dialogue, and a simple four-step framework (Think, Feel, Do, Revisit), participants learn how to move beyond polite avoidance and lead conversations that drive accountability, equity, and real change.

This session equips leaders to surface truth without damaging trust, navigate emotional resistance, and create environments where people feel both safe and challenged to contribute at their best.

The Cost of Comfort

• How "nice" leadership becomes avoidance
• The real impact on trust, inclusion, and results

Reframing the Leadership Mindset (Think)

• Challenging stories that reward silence
• Redefining feedback and conflict as leadership responsibilities

Navigating Discomfort with Emotional Intelligence (Feel)

• Why hard conversations trigger resistance
• Staying grounded and effective under pressure

Tools for Courageous Conversations (Do)

• Clear, respectful candor without defensiveness
• Practical techniques for accountability and inclusion

Amira Barger is a nationally recognized communications strategist, author, and organizational change expert with more than 20 years of experience helping leaders navigate trust, equity, and culture. She is the author of The Price of Nice, which examines how comfort-seeking behaviors undermine real progress at work. Amira teaches marketing, communications, and change management at California State University and is a regular contributor to MS NOW, Fast Company, and other leading outlets. Known for her clear, candid, and engaging facilitation style, she has advised and trained leaders across healthcare, philanthropy, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, including Fortune 500 organizations and mission-driven institutions.