Deadly Communication Mistakes to Avoid - 1

In continuation to my Quantum Physics of Beliefs Round Table discussion on Miscommunications last week (in case you missed it, click on the link), this week I will be writing this 5 part mini-series on more communication skills.

It does not matter how good you are in your profession; if you are a poor communicator, you are likely to run into many work-related problems. It may surprise you, but 90% of these problems would not be there in the first place if you could communicate clearly to and with your peers, superiors and subordinates. Good communication skills in the workplace are not a ‘nice to have’ but a requirement.

Many unknowingly commit deadly mistakes in communication that result in having them completely cut off. Recognize and avoid these mistakes (in no particular order) and your professional and personal life would take off: (here is skill #1 for today)

TOO BUSY TO LISTEN – communication means information sharing. In other words, it means you give and take information. Most of us just give information and when the time comes to take in information we shut off. The result is a huge communication gap, which in turn can create chaos. Good communication skills require you to listen. Talk. Stop. Listen.

What's So Hard About Real Conversations?

In continuation to my Quantum Physics of Beliefs Round Table discussion on Miscommunications last week (in case you missed it, please click here on this link), today I will be writing about this struggle that most Leaders go thru regularly in their communications with their followers.

What does it mean to “come out from behind ourselves to have real conversations”?

What’s so hard about that?

If you are a Leader, your job is to accomplish the goals of the organization. You do that in large part by making every conversation you have as real as possible.  A Leader’s job is essentially to engineer the types of conversations that produce clarity, cooperation, creativity, drive, and a connection to values beyond the company.

Your conversations may have to come up with a big new idea, or transform your company into a better place to work, or maybe figure out how to improve customer-renewal rates. You may use conversations to enhance collaboration, or provide leadership development, or deliver performance review feedback.

Success as a Leader depends on the success of your conversations, and occurs one conversation at a time. Here are four components of successful conversations:

In order to execute initiative and deliver goals, Leaders must have conversations that:

1.    Interrogate reality

2.    Provoke learning

3.    Tackle tough challenges

4.    Enrich relationships

Each of these four components is tough assignments for any one conversation to achieve.  To help put this into perspective, the next time you have a conversation, ask yourself which, if any, of these goals you think was approached, even minimally.

·         Did I ask about the other person’s perspective?

·         Did I try to understand the person, situation, or issue better?

·         Did I try to get to the real issue, and the nuances behind the challenges?

·         Did I enhance our relationship, deepen our connection?