Focused Conversations » conversations

What conversations are you having?

learningcatalyst — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:20:04 +0000

True learning organizations are a space for generative conversations and concerted action which creates a field of alignment that produces tremendous power to invent new realities in conversation and to bring about these new realities in action. – Fred Kofman and Peter Senge “Communities of Commitment” Organizational Dynamics

Filed under: Life

Filtering the Purities Right Out of Conversations

learningcatalyst — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:36:32 +0000

Basic communication courses talk about the role filters play in our conversations. Originally a filter was something that removed impurities from liquids. Over time the word has evolved to mean everything from cigarette filters to camera filters.

In conversations we can be unaware that our filters might be removing the purities along with the impurities. Our biases may make it difficult for us to hear the truth. The way we feel about someone, the way they are dressed, our fatigue, the people we are with, etc. all play into how we receive what someone is saying to us.

How are you filtering your conversations? You might be surprised at what your missing.

Filed under: Communication, Leadership

Honesty – no matter how humiliating – is still the best policy.

learningcatalyst — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:02:40 +0000

Honesty – no matter how humiliating – is still the best policy.

A quote I read today said, “Warning: 100% honesty can make you feel 100% dysfunctional.” Isn’t’ that the truth? And isn’t that why we find honesty so difficult. It is humbling or should I say humiliating when we mess up and people find out we are not perfect.

A lot has been said in the past months about Tiger Woods and the way his people have handled his domestic melt down. I’m sure that in some cases saying nothing has been an effective strategy for handling the media. And dealing with a crisis that is going to play out on the global stage is certainly full of nuances that most of us don’t encounter in our personal and professional lives. Still, we all have those situations where the truth about the situation is rather nasty and we feel vulnerable about being found out. How do we handle it?

I believe honesty no matter what is still the best policy. A focused conversation where you admit you made a mistake, explain how you are trying to handle it and as I’ve said before, apologize if necessary. Don’t try and candy coat it. Keep away from spin if possible. In this world of twitter and facebook status updates someone is always ready to tell it for you. The safest thing is to tell the truth.

But Your Truth Does.

Posted in Communication, Decisions, Leadership, Life