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.

“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.

On Friday, December 19th, I’ll be attending the monthly meeting of the Association for Consulting expertise, where I am a member.  It’s a terrific organization of seasoned consultants who value collaboration.  Sharing information, bringing in the best qualified people, and creating value are the hallmarks of ACE.

I’ll be conducting a Roundtable program (click here) after the meeting to acquaint members with the a communication tool I use regularly when teaching and coaching leaders. It’s a very versatile tool, helpful when planning communication strategies and diagnosing communication breakdowns.

To learn more about this communication tool, visit a Fast Company article I wrote in May (click here) or the Maine Banker (click here).

The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce is an organization with a lot of vitality, creativity and vision. Now they are offering Tech Tuesdays throughout the winter months to bring folks together for new learning experiences.  I’ll be leading a few of the programs.  The first will be on December 5th: Building and Maintaining Business Relationships. Businesses tend to focus on the relationship with their customer/clients, and not devote enough resources to employee relationships.  Of course, they are both important. To find out more about the workshop, click here.