Thinking Out Loud

There are many ways to apply the Communication Styles Framework in the workplace. Guiding the professional development conversation is one of them. By identifying processing strengths and challenges, you create a foundation for learning new skills with a clear pathway to achievement.

On Tuesday September 16th, I’ll be at Eastern Maine Community College teaching managers how to use the CSF to guide professional development conversations.  To learn more, click here.

Co-worker conflict is not uncommon and sometimes it escalates with tension running high. Now what? An article I had published in Fast Company (click here) offers some guidelines on how to repair broken communication. Navigating conflict is never easy and learning how to revisit difficult conversations is a necessity, not just in the workplace but in our personal lives, too.

We have a tendency to mentally rehearse anticipated difficult conversations. Often with these we tell someone off, explaining why we acted a certain way or what they did wrong. Frequently we take a self-righteous tone. These conversations rehearsed are usually not the ones we end up having, if indeed we have them at all. An exercise like this is a good way to blow off steam, making it possible to focus on what really might be constructive, especially if we remember that there are two people in the conversation.  Read More

We learn to make good decisions through practice. With young children, we start by giving them two choices, then gradually widen the possibilities and provide more choices. There is no formula to learning to make good decisions but using this child development model provides a basic guideline: start small and add choices if and when needed.

Much new information about how our brains process information has become available in recent years with many psychologists and behavioral economists studying the decision-making process. Read More