Advanced Communication, Problem Solving and Team Facilitation skills!

The world around us is changing quickly. We have a new president, the economy is in rough shape, unemployment is up, financial institutions are closing, businesses are being stretched to do more with less and many are losing the battle. It seems everywhere we turn; the message is things are changing whether or not we want them to.

Good news ahead!

This is the right time and the perfect opportunity to focus on learning how to better influence positive change by sharpening the way we communicate with each other. We no longer have the luxury of time to allow miscommunication to continue. We need to acquire new tools and tips to add to those we already have. I have observed this from my personal experiences. What worked for me 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 6 months ago, might not work now. Techniques I used to solve problems, lead change, create teams were specific to the cultures and environments I was in. There was no one-fit-all style I could use and no one specific set of techniques I could repeat. I had to reach into my tool box and pick just the right ones for the specific environment and when I couldn’t find anything, I had to find more. Learn new techniques, acquire new tools, read more books, study more constantly re-inventing myself to keep up with the times.

The other skills to review are our Problem Solving skills. The ability to identify the right problems, work on solutions, refactor and repeat is more critical then before. Less people, less time, different problems, same old challenges.

We can no longer afford to see old patterns repeat, meeting after meeting without forward movement and most important, we must learn how to harness the collective knowledge of all as effectively and efficiently as possible. We’ll still make mistakes, but we’ll have new tools.

How can we do that if we don’t know how to listen, give and receive information in the most effective way? What if the way we thought worked isn’t working now? The only obstacle we face is ourselves. We all have the ability to do these things we just need to expand our toolbox for the new place we find ourselves in.

The brightest and savviest CEO’s will embrace this period of time to restructure for efficiency and success leaving old behaviors behind and embracing the new. They will seek these skills and ensure it is a focus of training in their organizations.

The rainmakers will emerge. Be one.

Effectively Communicate

We’re all great communicators, well we are right?

Everyone thinks they are great communicators. Every resume says so.

We don’t pay for these courses, many never take them or pick up a book yet on nearly all performance review forms there is a section for communication skills and nearly everyone has areas to improve there. It’s puzzling why we don’t support these courses.

If we’re all so good and we don’t need improvement then why is it we see these patterns repeat and repeat?

• Meetings start late, run over and the same problems come up week after week
• Decisions to choose methodology or practice are delayed resulting in odd combinations that render little to no noticeable change in results
• Interviewing skills are lacking
• Interviewer skills are not productive
• Hiring decisions take too long and the list goes on and on

Have you ever heard, “she understands me” or “he gets me” but you don’t? We fight with our kids, our friends, our spouses, our colleagues while we get along fine with others. What is obvious to me is not obvious to you and I can’t seem to get you to understand why but why is it what I am saying is obvious to someone else? If we’re great at communications, why is this? The facts could outweigh our own perceptions of our skills and perhaps those around us.

Tempermants and Interactions

How can we get better? Study, learn, adapt and repeat.

I learn by studying models. I might suggest trying to learn the MBTI model, combine it with the studies of the Satir Interaction model and together with coaching and facilitation understand how we communicate, how others communicate and more important, how this plays into how you receive, perceive and respond to information. Out of this comes a far greater chance of gaining and improving problem solving skills and influencing skills.

You can observe communication patterns everyday in the workplace. During meetings, when one or two people always take the lead or talk the most or are the loudest while some people say nothing? Why is that? Some people can talk all day about the possible factors as reasons for problems while others absolutely need to have a decision made after several go arounds of reasonable reasons. Why? Some people care more about how people are feeling and reacting in a meeting as they are observing this while other people don’t even notice that these people are in the room.

A basic outline to get started

· Learn advanced communication skills based on a model that fits for you and set team norms so that time is not wasted with miscommunication. These will be skills people can use forever to increase their overall personal effectiveness as well as their effectiveness in their roles

· Learn how to lead teams through problem solving sessions where the team concludes what their real issues are utilizing a series of advanced techniques in facilitation and coaching. If they are not seeing something you can see as an outside observer, provide that feedback

· Lead some retrospectives using methods that work during problem solving sessions to push teams out of stuck positions and move them towards making decisions and solving problems

· Let a couple of weeks pass as the teams work with these new skills

· Meet again and let the same teams go through a similar exercise where you can lead them through focusing on some potential solutions. Help them organize and provide a structure through which they can focus their efforts with a follow-up plan and time and actions that are time-boxed and result-oriented

Conclusion

People, teams, organizations know what they need to do. It’s the effort between knowing and doing that stops them. We all fall into old patterns, even when we know better and we all know better. Sometimes we’re just too busy keeping the business running to stop and reassess. Sometimes we realize that being on the inside of an organization is already putting us in a position of ineffectiveness and bias. We know what we know but for reasons we don’t, we’re stuck. And sometimes, we simply have not had time to pick up the vital tips referred to above because we were focusing our careers in other directions be it technical or management. Simply, we need to constantly add to our toolboxes and these days, even more so.

Being here is not the problem, how you got here – not terribly important. Staying here – is not an option.

It’s helpful to have an outside facilitator/coach come in that is unbiased and only there to assist. Sometimes it’s the only way to realize that breakthrough you’re looking for.

For organizations that are intent on making impactful changes that help now, contact us!