Have you noticed that people all around you are getting testier? Every day they continue to get bad news about the economy, jobs, taxes, housing starts, state and county service cutbacks and a myriad of circumstances that impact right now the quality of life we have worked so hard to create for ourselves and our association staff, leaders and members!
It is a good time to focus on the basics and pay attention to the rules of working together because your leadership effectiveness depends on these relationships!
And here is the good news! These basics include practices that are totally within your control!
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Seek first to understand the other person before making a case for your point of view.
People rarely hear what you are REALLY saying until they believe that you have heard what they have to say. You don’t have to agree, you just have to acknowledge their right to express their point of view and for their point of view to be understood.
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Deliver on your promises.
Do what you say you will do and be in communication if your timetable for doing it slips. Other people may be waiting for you or counting on you doing something and will respect you if you give them a heads up that you are changing the terms of your commitment and are willing to be responsible for the impact that may have on other people. And when other call you on your broken promises, thank then for the feedback and understand the impact that it had on them.
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Hold other people accountable for doing what they have promised to do.
When you seek to understand what got in the way of them doing what they said they would do, you may see that there is a root cause for their inability to deliver that has a broader impact on the organization as a whole. Ultimately this conversation will also support both you and the other person in developing more effective communication and work practices.
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Acknowledge people for the actions they take that contribute value to the organization.
Be generous in looking for the good in what others are doing and saying and express your appreciation often in a way that they can hear it. Not everyone wants public recognition and not everyone wants to hear that acknowledgment only in private. Know what is meaningful to the other person and deliver your acknowledgment accordingly.
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Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.
And match the channel of communication with the message to be communicated. Don’t rely on one method of communication for all messages. And keep in mind how the other person prefers to communicate. Don’t text or tweet someone who communicates by voice or face-to-face!
When you choose to incorporate these 5 rules into your daily interactions, you will see your level of stress, frustration and disappointment go way down! And you will create a model for other people to follow so that without saying anything, they will soon be adopting the same practices!
You do not have to be stopped by the changing circumstances in your organization because implementing these practices has nothing to do with “circumstances. Theses 5 rules for working together will work for you everywhere in your professional and even in your personal life. Take the coaching and try them on and let me know what amazing results you get!
