Effective Communication Techniques
Due to a specific request, the Effective Communication Techniques: Figuring people out workshop was run twice last month – on May 17th and May 31st. This workshop focused primarily on how people function and communicate in general and how they behave in a given context. The benefit of the approach presented in the workshop is that discovering how a person operates and identifying his or her internal reality allows us to connect andcommunicate with that person in an efficient and productive way.
People tend to operate differently in different situations, and a lot depends on their frame of mind at any given moment. Each frame of mind describes a distinction of consciousness. What controls and runs our specific frames of mind are our “software programs,” which are called “metaprograms” in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). Being able to recognize our own metaprograms as well as the metaprograms of others can lead us to communicate and relate to one another more effectively.
Career Assessment Workshop
Due to changes in the workshop schedule, the Career Assessment Workshop will be offered again in the fall. Look for a separate mailing with more information about this workshop. Should you have any immediate questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Career Management Program. In my Easter Newsletter, I announced the launch of a new CareerManagement Program. This program will be available soon in a workshop format as well asthrough one-on-one coaching sessions. Look for a separate mailing with more information about this program in the summer. Should you have any immediate questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Calendar
| June 2nd | WIB – Women in Business dinner |
|---|---|
| June 10th | IWAP evening group |
| June 11th | Cancham PubNight |
| June 29th | Canada Day Boat Cruise |
| July 7th | WIB – Women in Business dinner |
Communication Tip of the Month:
How to Manage Transition Comfortably
Listening to Christine Heyting from E&Y and Ivana Machkova from PWC sharing their experience at the ASTD meeting on the topic: “Managing Change: The Human Side of Mergers & Acquisitions” I was wondering when in life we are not in transition.
A transition can be something as major as a company merger, an office move or a company delocalisation, or something seemingly benign, like seasonal transition (such as the early summer heat waves we are experiencing) or going on vacation. But as William Bridges explains in his book “Managing Transitions”, if change (a new situation) is external, transition is internal. “A transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with a situation.” Transition starts with an ending, whereas change starts with a beginning. As the saying goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Which means that without transition, change cannot occur. The paradox is that transition starts with an ending. Understanding that transition starts with letting go of something, the old situation, the old ways of doing things is the first step in the task of transition management.
Psychologically, this takes time. As a manager, remember that a new message needs to be repeated more than once before your team catches on. If you are lower down on the totem pole, don’t forget that changing behavior takes time, and plan for it.
The second step of transition is the no-man’s-land between the old reality and the new one, what W. Bridges calls the neutral zone, “the limbo between the old sense of identity and the new,” when the old ways haven’t completely fallen by the wayside and the new ways are still looking for a foothold. This period is critical. It is here where things can either take off or sink into the mud.
And finally, after having let go of old habits and digested the possibility of adopting new ones, you will be ready for a new beginning. Beginnings are about new understandings, new values, new attitudes, new identities. “Every exit is an entry somewhere else,” said Tom Stoppard, the American dramatist.
For all the ongoing changes in our lives, we need to keep in mind the 3 steps of the transition process and respect them. We can try to shorten the timing of each step but we cannot bypass the steps, as change cannot occur without its transition process.
Are you ready for change?
Yours truly,Karin