Thinking Out Loud

I’ll be presenting a workshop (Understanding Communication Styles: Key to collaboration and problem-solving) at a conference for the Maine Association of Mediators (click here) on June 4th in Augusta, Maine at the Maine Holocaust and Human Rights Center.  Mediators serve an important function in a wide range of situations, including family law and conflict resolution in the workplace.  I’ve worked closely with numerous mediators over many years and have great respect for the important work they do.

The recent article I wrote for Fast Company on performance evaluations (click here) has generated a lot of thoughtful feedback..  It’s a hot and provocative topic.  The folks I know in HR are constantly looking for better evaluation programs and getting eye rolls whenever the topic is discussed with employees.  It seems to be universally dreaded and most importantly, it’s rarely helpful.  If anything, it should be helpful, otherwise why do it?

There is something we want from it, and it could be meaningful if it was tied to the real work people are doing, discussed with a manager in an engaged collaborative manner, and resulted in improved skills.

Check out the article and please share your thoughts with me.

“Communication, Relationships, Wellness: What’s the connection?” I’ll be giving the keynote and conducting an all day workshop for the Maine Municipal Association’s 27^th annual wellness conference in Freeport, Maine on May 13^th, 2015. To learn more about the conference, click here.

Wellness is more than being physically healthy.  It also encompasses our sense of well-being, which is directly related to the quality of the relationships in our lives.  In the workplace, the number one reason people give for leaving their job is the relationship with their manager.  In our personal lives, we all know what it’s like to have strained relationships and how we carry that anguish with us.

Learning to successfully navigate in our relational world is essential to our health and well-being.  It’s through good communication skills that we connect better, problem-solve, share our hopes and dreams, and collaborate.  Participants in the conference will learn how to use The Communication Styles Framework to help them recognize their strengths, challenges, and develop concrete tools to become more effective in their communication with others.

Many (most?) of the books and articles written about how to be a good leader concentrate on some aspect of vulnerability — what it is and what it isn’t. Much of it encourages us to simply be more open with those we work with, to trust and share power. Here I want to talk about our humanity, not pretending that because we have attained a leadership position we have it all figured out: that we have all the answers and all the confidence. The truth is, we do not check our humanity at the door when we assume a position of leadership.

Read More