As a leader/manager, you have the challenge of leading individuals on the spectrum of communication skills. Some individuals will be literal/concrete thinkers. Think Dr. Sheldon Cooper of the Big Bang Theory. In order to increase productivity and cooperation, there are some communication techniques that will help.

Positive communication with literal colleagues and clients:

• Literal individuals often face challenges in interpersonal communications. Specifically they are often unaware of the nuances of body language and non-verbal communication techniques such as vocal tone. They will often misinterpret body language cues.
• Literal individuals will often over-explain. It’s okay to say, “I understand.”
• Other characteristics of literal individuals:
  • Determination to seek the truth
  • Advanced vocabulary and interest in words
  • Perseverance in gathering and cataloging
    information
  • Encyclopedic knowledge of topic
  • Focused desire to maintain order and accuracy

 

• Do NOT take it personally when they do not
  make small talk, smile, or engage in typical interpersonal communication behaviors.
• Think about your word selection and use specific words that exactly capture what you mean.
• Refrain from using lots of hand or arm gestures.
• Provide lists and detailed justification for your proposals and/or actions.
• When possible, communicate via phone and e-mail.

to think about: who on your team is a literal/concrete thinker?

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As the new year begins, I tend to reflect on the past year and my life in general. This year, I was thinking about what I know now that I wish I knew before and jotted them down. I hope they are helpful to you.

Life
is easier when:

You don’t get embarrassed.

You don’t worry about being nice for niceness sake.

You don’t worry about people liking you.

You embrace good enough for some projects.

You treat others the way they want to be treated.

You are true to yourself.

You exercise at least 10 minutes every day.

You talk to strangers.

You let your light shine.

You have a comfortable work chair.

You have a jam free stapler.

You check in curbside with heavy luggage.

You let go of could’ve, would’ve, should’ve.

You treat yourself and others with kindness.

You use carrots rather than sticks.

You realize everyone is doing the best they can.

You silence the negative voice in your head.

You don’t look to others to determine your worth.

To think about: For you, life is easier when…….

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Lately, I’ve had several friends tell me that facebook has lost its fun factor. When I asked them about it, they say things like “it’s become so political” and “everyone is selling something.” I can see their points. Facebook can be useful in creating personal and business relationships. I’ve developed some communication tips for keeping facebook fun.

1.  Decide what you want out of facebook: connecting with friends, colleagues, potential clients, etc.

2. Do not approve people just because they’ve friended you. Only approve people that you want to connect with and whom you’re comfortable knowing about your life.

3.  Hide negative or political posters. One of my friends didn’t realize that she didn’t have to unfriend someone, she could just hide their feed. If anyone has repeated negative or poor me postings, I hide their feed. If anyone is selling any type of MLM product, I hide their feed. If anyone is intolerant, I hide their feed.

4. Unfriend people. Life is too short to be around people who are negative. If someone posts something you find offensive or distasteful, unfriend them. Chances are these are not people you see regularly in your real life.

5. Develop a thick skin. I have several facebook friends who routinely weed out their friends’ lists and unfriend people. My philosophy, if someone doesn’t like what I’ve written on facebook, it’s probably not a good fit for a real friendship anyway.

I’ve crafted my facebook experience to be one of people I like who have positive postings. Consequently, it’s a fun experience.

 

To think about: whose feeds should I hide and whom should I unfriend?

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As a strategic planning consultant, I am brought in to help organizations perform at a higher level.
When I interview employees, they usually fall into 2 categories:  little dogs and big dogs. Little dogs are
yippy and focused on bringing attention to themselves. Big dogs are confident
in their abilities and results. Consequently, they do not feel any need to
repeatedly bring attention to themselves. Big dogs let their actions speak for
them.

Big dogs can be found at all levels of an organization. Big dogs are focused
on the needs and goals of the organization rather than solely looking out for
their own interests. Because big dogs are confident in their own abilities,
they are humble. Creating an atmosphere of humility, allows each team member to
thrive. Below are the steps I’ve discovered in my work with successful
organizations.

3 Steps To Being A Humble Team Player

1.  Give public credit to other team members for their success.

2.  Practice kindness in working with all other employees, regardless of their status or ability to
help you.

3.  Focus on achieving team goals.

By cultivating humility, individual team members are encouraged to succeed and produce excellent results.

 

To think about:  Am I constantly trying to get credit for what I do (little dog behavior) or am I looking for ways to help the team achieve our goals (big dog behavior)?

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Systemization secures steady results. The fall is the
perfect time to review the processes and systems you have or need in your
office. As a strategic planning consultant, I am often brought into organizations to
increase capacity and improve outcomes. I do this through developing systems to
help organizations run smoother. Having processes in place creates consistency
of results and increases productivity. A while back, I read a book addressing this
issue, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. In The Checklist Manifesto, Dr. Atul Gawande
reviews the role of checklists in different settings and then applies it to his
field of surgery. Checklists rose to prominence with flight checklists
developed by test pilots in 1935. The checklist for test pilots of the B-17 was
short enough to fit on an index card, with step-by-step checks for each
activity – takeoff, flight, landing, and taxiing.

Dr. Gawande proposes two types of checklists: do-confirm and
read-do. In do-confirm checklists, team members perform their jobs from memory
and experience and then run the checklist to confirm that the needed steps were
completed. In read-do checklists, team members perform the tasks as they check
them off – like following a recipe.

While Dr. Gawande does not discuss the application of checklists
to business settings, I have found much success using checklists in my business
and with my clients. Organizations can develop do-confirm checklists based on
the expectations of their team members. In an organization with clients, have a
checklist attached to the file with all of the needed components of the file
listed. The team member fills out the appropriate paperwork and then confirms
the information is included.

One read-do checklist that is helpful for a range of
businesses is a simple incoming call checklist. On it, include information
such: demographics/contact information of the caller and next steps. The key to
effective checklists is for them to be edited ruthlessly down to the essence of
what is needed. If something so complex as flying a plane can be made into a
checklist that would fit on an index card, any organizational process can be
distilled into its essence. By systemizing your organizational processes, you
will increase productivity and create consistency.

 

To think about: Which activity in my office could most
benefit from being systemized using a checklist?

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