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Having trouble navigating difficult conversations?

The Leadership Conversation: Make Bold Change, One Conversation At A Time by Rose Fass. Two books stacked on each other.

Rose Fass expertly shares simplified strategies for having effective conversations. Learn how to change the conversation to change hearts and minds, and ultimately get to the outcome you want to achieve.

“A must read for those who need to lead others through challenging times.”

Ajay Banga, President, World Bank

The Leadership Conversation: Make Bold Change, One Conversation At A Time by Rose Fass. How to navigate difficult conversations.
Hand holding an open The Leadership Conversation book with texts and a contour illustration of three people.

“Some of the most important conversations are the ones you have with yourself.”

What’s the book about?

I wrote this book to bring to light the need for artful conversations. I genuinely believe leadership happens in the conversation. Face to face, in an email, or in a public forum...on the world stage, in business, in our personal lives, we have exchanged civil discourse for a dueling monologue.
- Rose Fass

The single factor that determines success or failure on the public stage, in private interactions and in business today is the conversation. Great leaders are great communicators. They are consistent in their public and private conversations.

Experienced corporate business leader and change consultant, Rose Fass, confidently asserts that leadership is a conversation. In her new book, The Leadership Conversation, Rose Fass shows her readers how to change the conversation to change hearts and minds, and ultimately to change the outcome.

Whether you are a politician looking to bring about much needed change, a parent or family member hoping to set loved ones on the right path, or a business leader setting direction to achieve growth goals; it all happens in the conversation. Rose Fass understands, something too many leaders forget, that big bold change happens one conversation at a time.

This book, like her first book, The Chocolate Conversation: Lead Bittersweet Change, Transform your Business, reads like a novel, is filled with wisdom and straight talk, all with humor and real life examples.

Seven types of conversations diagram. Drive Performance, Sell an idea, Change someone's mind, Share information, Resolve a problem, Recognize performance, Correct performance.
Contour drawing of three people with business questions such as Are we relevant, Are we listening to them
Diagram of Worldview, Standards and Concern. Worldview is How we see the world. Standards is the bar we set for ourselves and others. Concerns is our unmet needs.

Find more helpful illustrations like these in the book.

Who is Rose Fass?

Rose Fass is the Founder and Chair of fassforward Consulting Group, a leading-edge business transformation boutique. Rose works with executive teams from Fortune 500 companies. Her work delivers thought leadership along with methodologies, and tools that enable clients to address tough challenges, solve complex business problems, execute on their strategies, and deliver bottom-line results.

A dynamic speaker, Rose is frequently invited to speak at private and public sector events. She has been a guest on CNBC, is quoted in several bestselling business books and is the author of the, The Chocolate Conversation: Lead Bittersweet Change, Transform your Business. Rose has been awarded the Great Companies' International Entrepreneurship Award 2024, featured in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women of 2022 and Entrepreneur 100 Women of Influence in Westchester. She is also listed in Forbes' 2012, Top 10 Women Business Leaders of New York. fassforward has been awarded the Inc. 500/5000 for three consecutive years.

Rose has a bachelor's degree from Boston University's School of Management and completed the Advanced Executive Studies Program at Harvard Business School.

Follow her on LinkedIn.

Rose Fass

10 things this book will teach you.

  1. Reframe a conversation.
  2. Lead change in your business.
  3. Find your relevance.
  4. Practice message discipline.
  5. Navigate mergers and acquisitions successfully.
  6. Have deep, honest, and raw conversations - with yourself & your people.
  7. Identify change that is needed, and how to change the course when necessary.
  8. Move beyond your conversational comfort zone.
  9. Up your emotional intelligence game by reading the gauges and pushing the right buttons.
  10. Move from destructive dissent to constructive dissent.

...and much more.

The Leadership Conversation make bold change, one conversation at a time. Book by Rose Fass on a solid pink background.
The Leadership Conversation make bold change, one conversation at a time. Book by Rose Fass on a solid pink background.

Peek inside The Leadership Conversation

Enjoying this sample?

Get your copy of The Leadership Conversation book!
These are the five rules of thumb Jack Winters lived by. Read more and get your own copy of The Leadership Conversation by Rose Fass.
Interviewed with Jack Winters, President of the U.S.Franchise.
Don't take shortcuts until you learn the long way home.
Two lessons learned. Never argue with a customer, and not eerything is how it appears.
New Beginnings and coming of Age. Lord & Taylor in the Prudential Center, Boston. I saw Audrey Hepburn on the escalator, waited on Judy Garland and sold her a Rosanna sweater.
Sears put me on the catalog desk at Christmas. I noticed purchases kept coming back after Christmas with a 'don't tell my wife that I brought these back.'
The one thing they liked about me was my ability to form relationships and give each customer a special experience.
Dad explained the concept of the cost of doing business. My older brother said my competitors are a compliment to my entrepreneurship.
At the close of hot chocolate business I came home with $27.85. I was rich! Until dad pulled out the ledger with the itemized initial investment and the cost of replenishing my inventory. He handed me $8.22.
I have taught all of my children to question." We left St.Joseph's. "You and your younger brother are going to public school next year." "What are we going to tell mom?" "We are not telling mom anything. I will discuss this with your mother.
Sister Ceceilia asked that we open out Baltimore Catiscasim to page 33. I raised my hand to question the illustration. "Does this mean anyone who isn't Catholic is going to hell? That doesn't seem right."
Mom asked who my dad knew that lived in this beautiful home. Dad looked loving at my mom and said, "My beautiful wife and her children, with me I hope." We enrolled in St. Joseph's Catholic School. The taught by Franciscan Nuns.
After dad successfully graduated from university, he was promoted to Sales Manager at Sears. It also meant moving away from Utica, New York where the entire family was born and raised.
A 50 Year Conversation. Childhood Lessons. I always gravitated to being a serial entrepreneur, even long before my leadership roles in large corporations.
Testimonial of The Leadership Conversation book, by Martha Delehanty, Chief People Officer, Commvault & former CHRO, Verizon Business. If you want to change conversation, lead through the tough plays and build something truly special — don't go on the field without this playbook!
Foreward of the The Leadership Conversation book, by Bill McDermott. As the consumer revolution and rapid innovations in technology continue to disrupt entire industries, enterprises from New York to New Delhi are realizing constant change is a necessity. Break through the inevitable chaos and more quickly drive success.
Table of Contents of The Leadership Conversation. Leadership happens in the conversation.
Dedication of The Leadership Conversation book. Some of the most important conversations are the ones you have with yourself.
The Leadership Conversation. Rose Fass. Making bold change, one conversation at a time.
The Leadership Conversation. Rose Fass. Making bold change, one conversation at a time.
The Leadership Conversation. Rose Fass. Making bold change, one conversation at a time.

Enjoying this sample?

Get your copy of The Leadership Conversation book
These are the five rules of thumb Jack Winters lived by. Read more and get your own copy of The Leadership Conversation by Rose Fass.
Interviewed with Jack Winters, President of the U.S.Franchise.
Don't take shortcuts until you learn the long way home.
Two lessons learned. Never argue with a customer, and not eerything is how it appears.
New Beginnings and coming of Age. Lord & Taylor in the Prudential Center, Boston. I saw Audrey Hepburn on the escalator, waited on Judy Garland and sold her a Rosanna sweater.
Sears put me on the catalog desk at Christmas. I noticed purchases kept coming back after Christmas with a 'don't tell my wife that I brought these back.'
The one thing they liked about me was my ability to form relationships and give each customer a special experience.
Dad explained the concept of the cost of doing business. My older brother said my competitors are a compliment to my entrepreneurship.
At the close of hot chocolate business I came home with $27.85. I was rich! Until dad pulled out the ledger with the itemized initial investment and the cost of replenishing my inventory. He handed me $8.22.
I have taught all of my children to question." We left St.Joseph's. "You and your younger brother are going to public school next year." "What are we going to tell mom?" "We are not telling mom anything. I will discuss this with your mother.
Sister Ceceilia asked that we open out Baltimore Catiscasim to page 33. I raised my hand to question the illustration. "Does this mean anyone who isn't Catholic is going to hell? That doesn't seem right."
Mom asked who my dad knew that lived in this beautiful home. Dad looked loving at my mom and said, "My beautiful wife and her children, with me I hope." We enrolled in St. Joseph's Catholic School. The taught by Franciscan Nuns.
After dad successfully graduated from university, he was promoted to Sales Manager at Sears. It also meant moving away from Utica, New York where the entire family was born and raised.
A 50 Year Conversation. Childhood Lessons. I always gravitated to being a serial entrepreneur, even long before my leadership roles in large corporations.
Testimonial of The Leadership Conversation book, by Martha Delehanty, Chief People Officer, Commvault & former CHRO, Verizon Business. If you want to change conversation, lead through the tough plays and build something truly special — don't go on the field without this playbook!
Foreward of the The Leadership Conversation book, by Bill McDermott. As the consumer revolution and rapid innovations in technology continue to disrupt entire industries, enterprises from New York to New Delhi are realizing constant change is a necessity. Break through the inevitable chaos and more quickly drive success.
Dedication of The Leadership Conversation book. Some of the most important conversations are the ones you have with yourself.
Table of Contents of The Leadership Conversation. Leadership happens in the conversation.
The Leadership Conversation. Rose Fass. Making bold change, one conversation at a time.

Praise for The Leadership Conversation.

Rose has been a trusted advisor and mentor to me for the last several years. She is uniquely gifted with deep leadership insights and an astute perspective on how organizations work. I always found her advice, grounded in integrity and with a very positive intent, to be thoughtful, insightful, pragmatic and highly actionable — in short, truly invaluable. She brings that same approach to her second book, which is a must-read for leaders in all organizations.”

Raja Rajamannar
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare Business, Mastercard

“Every leader has a pivotal moment in their career when they are called upon to lift the organization to meet a challenge. We needed to make a dramatic change in market share and mindset, and that is where Rose Fass and the fassforward team came in. As a people leader if you want to have an immediate impact on your organization, The Leadership Conversation will give you a blueprint to drive bold changes. Rose’s insights and coaching strategy will set you on the path to creating award-winning employee and customer experiences that drive confidence and loyalty.”

Kevin Zavaglia
VP Mass Market at Intuit

“I’ve been working with Rose and the fassforward team for over 18 years. If you want to change the conversation, lead through the tough plays and build something truly special don’t go on the field without this playbook!”

Martha Delehanty
Chief People Officer, Commvault & former CHRO, Verizon Business

“At Real Chemistry, our central organizing principle is to get ‘in relationship’ with our customers, people and patients, and to help our clients do the same to make the world a healthier place for all. The fact is that leadership is communication, from intimate conversations, to wider-reaching audiences, across the full-spectrum of communications channels. Rose Fass' The Leadership Conversation brings this powerful concept to life and provides actionable guidance on how to have the right conversations, with the right people at the right times to drive the right outcomes.”

Jim Weiss
Chairman, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Real Chemistry & Jennifer Gottlieb, Global President

“Constructive conversations begin with a willingness to listen, because there is always something we can learn from other people. In both her work with Mastercard executives and this book, Rose shows how listening and learning leads to respect, and how that respect leads to the kind of thoughtful and hard conversations that lead to progress. A must read for those who need to lead others through challenging times.”

Ajay Banga
President, World Bank

“True leadership is about rallying your employees around a central mission, and inspiring them into action. The fact is that people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. As a key strategic partner, Rose has been an integral part of our transformational journey to meet the rapidly changing needs of customers. A masterful, timely read, The Leadership Conversation is a testament to Fass’ ability to unlock the reader’s full potential.”

Tami Erwin
CEO, Verizon Business

Rose has a lot to share! Hear her speak about her passions with others.

Creating Better Leadership Conversations

Rose Fass joins Kevin to discuss the importance of effective leadership conversations. She encourages leaders to embrace constructive dissent, promote inclusivity, and create a culture where authentic, respectful conversations can happen. She introduces the concept of framing conversations, consisting of the technical, social, and political spheres, to effectively share ideas and build trust.

Learning the Art of Conversation

Feeling powerless about the state of the world? Listen to the latest episode of Motivational Mondays to learn how to heal our rampant divisiveness through challenging conversations.

The Chocolate Conversation: The Driving Force of a Successful Business.

Leaders should remember that effective conversation is crucial for uncovering concerns that may hinder success. In this episode, Rose Fass, Founder, and Chair of fassforward Consulting Group, discusses how "The Chocolate Conversation" drives business success by highlighting the importance of leadership in cultivating a common worldview, setting standards and goals, and addressing team concerns.

Bridging the Leadership Gap.

What does it mean to be a leader? Dr. Pelè and Rose Fass invite you to unravel this complex question. This episode will help you demystify some common misconceptions about leadership, emphasizing the importance of listening and the critical idea that "leadership happens in conversations!"

The Leadership Conversation with Rose Fass.

Do you have your eye on a leadership position in your organization or perhaps you're well on your way climbing up that ladder, but you could use a mentor. Maybe you could use someone to help you communicate your leadership style a little bit better. Well, you're in luck today.

The most important conversation is the one you have with yourself.

Hear how to really think about the conversations you're having. What if you could see the world through a fresh lens?

Effective leadership conversation techniques.

Today’s topics are locked-in on effective conversation techniques for leaders. This is a must-have skill for leaders to engage in meaningful conversations with their teams.

Rose Fass, The Leadership Conversation.

The Third Way is a podcast hosted by Justin Foster, brand coach, consciousness leader and poet. Each week, he introduces listeners to a new Third Way Thinker where they talk through a topic and both answer a set of three questions - all designed to challenge binary thinking, absolutism and dogma.

Rose Fass - The Leadership Conversation

We talk about leadership, politics, reframing conversations. And stories! Listen to the end. Rose has fascinating insight into hybrid/remote strategy and what it's going to take to get resistant senior leaders on board. I love her specific examples.

Awards received on behalf of Rose and her company.

Companies Rose has worked with.