Category Archive for ‘Communication’ at DrivenLeaders.com

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The Best Ways to Communicate with Gen-Y

Published

on August 13, 2009

. 0 Comments

Today’s guest post is from Kyle Ryman of ProfessionalLEADER.com.

Do you have Generation Y in your organization? You probably do, and that means that you will have to, at one point or another, have to get a hold of them at some point in time. But how will you do it? Look through these 4 different ways to find the best way of getting a hold of the tech savvy Generation Y.

1. Social Networking Sites

You will want to use social networking sites if you have a short to medium length message, that will be sent to one or a handful of people, and it will need to be read or responded to relatively quickly.

What is great about them:

They check these sites multiple times a day.
It is easy for them to access and respond to your message.

What sucks about them:

You can’t send attachments.
Lack of formatting options keeps your message length relatively short.
It is hard to easily communicate with more than a handful of people.
You not only have to be on the same social network, but you also have to be their “friend.

2. Text Messages

You will want to use text messages if you have a very short and direct message, that will be sent to one or a handful of people, and it needs to be read or responded to extremely quickly.

What is great about them:

Text messages are easy to respond to, even while in class…
Their phone will notify them as soon as they receive one.
You can be almost certain they will receive your message.

What sucks about them:

You can only use this for short, direct, messaging.
You are hard pressed to contact large groups.
It costs you money…

3. E-mails & List Servs

You will want to use e-mails and list servs if you have a medium to long message, which will be sent to any sized audience, and it needs to be read or responded to within the next few days.

What is great about them:

You can send longer, more detailed messages.
You can send attachments.
They normally check their personal e-mail at least once per day (more with a smart phone).
Emails and list servs make it easier for you to contact large groups.

What sucks about them:

They don’t check this as much as they do their social networking sites.
If you don’t send to their personal e-mail, then good luck.
There is a “slight” risk of their spam filter filtering you…

4. Phone Calls

You will want to use phone calls only if your message is too complex to be expressed any other way, i.e. you have got to talk to them.

What is great about them:

Phone calls are a very dynamic medium.
You actually know whether or not they got, and understood, your message.

What sucks about them:

You can only contact one person at a time.
They probably won’t pick up, for whatever reason…
They will not listen to any voice mails that you send. Or, at least not any time soon.

The Key for You…

…is matching medium to message. You have got to know what kind of message you are sending, what timeframe they need to respond in, and how many people you will be sending it to. If you take those three things into consideration and match them to the appropriate communication channel, then you will stand a much better chance at getting a hold of your Generation Yers.

My Question to You:

When you have to get a hold of Generation Y, how do you do it?

_________________________________________________________________________________

Kyle Ryman is a guest contributor and author of ProfessionalLEADER.com. He is a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army (infantry), and a recent graduate of Texas A&M University with a B.A. in History, Minor in Communications, and Certificate in Leadership Development and Study.

Rypple: 360 Degree Feedback Reinvented

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on May 29, 2009

in Communication and Personal Development

. 5 Comments

360 feedback Rypple: 360 Degree Feedback Reinvented For years now, 360 degree feedback or “multi-rater feedback” has become all the rage when it comes to training, development, and in some cases, performance evaluations.

In a nutshell, 360 degree feedback is a method and a tool that provides an employee the opportunity to receive performance feedback from every aspect surrounding their role. Traditionally the feedback is given from a range of internal sources (including supervisors, peers, subordinates) and in some cases external sources as well (customers, business partners, etc.) 360 degree feedback allows an individual to understand how his or her effectiveness as an employee, coworker, or staff member is viewed by others.

“The purpose of the 360 degree feedback is to assist each individual to understand his or her strengths and weaknesses, and to contribute insights into aspects of his or her work needing professional development.” – Susan Heathfield, HR Expert - About.com

There is great debate as to whether 360 degree feedback should be used strictly for developmental purposes, or also used for end of year appraisals. Some argue that multiple sources lead to more well rounded fedback, while others feel that the method’s anonymity provides no recourse should one want further clarification on the feedback. Regardless of position, it’s hard to argue the power of receiving a full circle view of one’s effectiveness when it comes to personal development.

Recently while discussing the topic, a co-worker introduced me to Rypple.com, a quick and easy way to solicit feedback from managers, peers or really anyones opinion whom you respect. The flexibility of the system allows you to solict feedback from anyone, about anything from performance, to opinions on a meeting, or input from a team members on a project. Everything is presented in very simplistic manner allowing you to simply enter your question, choose whom you want to ask it to, and then track your performance.

What separates Rypple from other 360 feedback systems is that there are minimal constraints when it comes to what you can and cannot do. There are no pre-defined questions or limitations on who should give you feedback. The responses are completely anonymous, creating an open environment for honest and meaningful feedback. With this flexible functionality, some users have even employed the technology to survey customers and solicit feedback from clients.

Rypple is a web-based and free for the basic service, (a premium version costs a nominal fee per month, with corporate options rising from there) allowing users to sign-up today and receive feedback almost instantly. Certainly an interesting twist on receiving feedback that caters directly to Gen-Y. To learn more, take the Rypple Tour and check it out yourself. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts or experiences if you’ve used it.

8 Secrets to Settling Disagreements

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on March 15, 2009

in Communication, Managing and Personal Development

. 2 Comments

disagreement 8 Secrets to Settling Disagreements

Succeeding in any venture or relationship will bring about its share of disagreements. Be it with a customer, a colleague, or business partner, disagreements are an inevitable part of doing business that you can and should be well prepared for. Aside from settling a particular dispute, properly resolving a disagreement provides the opportunity for increasing respect, building trust, and generally advancing the relationship with your opposition to an entirely different level. Yet even so, the word disagreement continues to hold a negative connotation in most peoples mind. Why? Because disagreements make people uncomfortable. And if handled incorrectly, they can lead to a full fledged argument where nobody wins and everyone goes home unfulfilled.

I first encountered one of my favorite models for settling disagreements while reading How to Win friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, a few years back. Without a doubt one of my all-time favorite books that I’ve been known to quote on more than one occasion. In his chapter entitled, “You Can’t Win an Argument” Carnegie sites an article from Bits and Pieces, offering a few suggestions on how to keep a disagreement from turning into an argument. The highlights are below.

Distrust your first instinctive impression. Our first natural reaction in a disagreeable situation is to be defensive. Be careful. Keep calm and watch out for your first reaction. It may be you at your worst, not your best.
Control your temper. Remember, you can measure the size of a person by what makes him or her angry.
Listen first. Give your opponents a chance to talk. Let them finish. Do not resist, defend, or debate. This only raises barriers. Try to build bridges of understanding. Don’t build higher barriers of misunderstanding.
Look for areas of agreement. When you have heard your opponents out, dwell first on the points and area of which you agree.
Be honest. Look for area where you can admit error and say so. Apologize for your mistakes. It will help you disarm your opponents and reduce defensiveness.
Promise to think over your opponents ideas and study them carefully. And mean it. Your opponents may be right. It’s a lot easier at this stage to agree to think about their points than to move rapidly ahead and find yourself in a position where your opponents can say: “We tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Thank your opponents sincerely for their interest. Anyone who takes the time to disagree with you is interested in the same things that you are. Think of them as people who really want to help you, and you may turn your opponents into friends.
Postpone action to give both sides time to think through the problem. Suggest that a new meeting be held later that day or the next day, when all the facts may be brought to bear. In preparation for this meeting, ask yourself some hard questions:

Could my opponents be right? Partly right? Is there truth or merit in their position or argument? Is my action one that will relive the problem, or will it just relive my frustration? Will my reaction drive my opponents away or draw them closer to me? Will my reaction elevate the estimation good people have in me? Will win or lose? What price will have to pay if I win? If I’m quite about it, will the disagreement blow over? Is this difficult situation an opportunity for me.

I’ll be the first to admit it takes commitment and a conscious effort to consistently apply these principals, yet I’ll wager that if you take them to heart, you won’t be disappointed.

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Are You a Good Communicator? Teleseminar Opportunity: February 12, 2009

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on February 9, 2009

in Communication and Personal Development

. 0 Comments

leadership communication 300x136 Are You a Good Communicator? Teleseminar Opportunity: February 12, 2009

When it comes to being an effective leader, there is no substitute for having strong communication skills. Time and time again this topic comes up in discussion, being that most people believe that they are better communicators than they really are. Fortunately for those looking to improve in this area, leadership guru Kevin Eikenberry and conflict resolution specialist Guy Harris are teaming up to provide some direction in the area of creating dialogue and improving communication effectiveness.

During this 60 minute teleseminar Kevin and Guy will speak to:

The difference between real dialogue and mutual monologue
What it means to talk how the other person wants to hear
Why you need to “tune in” for communication effectiveness
The difference between task orientation and people orientation and how to talk with one another instead of at each other
How the Ultimate Discovery System can positively impact your communications

Add in a robust Q&A (not to mention the fact that Kevin has been kind enough to pick up the $57 tab) and you have an excellent opportunity to enhance your communication skills free of charge. I have a feeling that this will be well worth it. Registration details are below.

A Conversation with Guy Harris
A Remarkable Leadership Guest Teleseminar

Thursday, February 12, 2009 • 2:00pm EST • Cost: Free!

Conflict Management 101(drivenleaders.com)
How Rich Is Your Communication In A Conflict? (davefleet.com)

Top 7 Pointers for Email Etiquette

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on August 18, 2008

in Communication

. 2 Comments

Top 7 Pointers for Email Etiquette On a conference call last week it was said that J&J employees send over 1 million emails per month. Without a doubt, email is a cornerstone of doing business today. Now more than ever, your email etiquette is important in communicating effectively and efficiently. Below are 7 sure-fire tips to think about for the next time you sit down to send off an email:

Make sure “email” is appropriate.

Email may be quick and easy, but it’s definitely not the proper medium for every message. Consider a live call if your topic is emotional or controversial, your recipient may misinterpret your thoughts if presented on email. Sensitive or private subject? Never forget how easy it is to hit “forward,” not to mention the fact that your message will be sitting somewhere in cyberspace for years to come.

Use the subject line properly.

Your “subject” line needs to be meaningful and on point if you want get the readers attention. For example: “Action required:” or “Response requested:” grab attention. Avoid a using a generic subject, such as “Hi”, or worse, not using one at all. These messages will be either ignored or relegated to the bottom of the inbox. By leaving the subject blank, you also make it harder for your recipient to find it should they need it later.

Get the name right.

If you are unsure of the spelling of the recipient’s name or how he/she prefers to be addressed, take the time to find out. Nothing kicks off a great business relationship quite like using the wrong name… it’s worth the extra minute.

Get to the point.

Emails are not the place for writing your autobiography or a novel. Be respectful of other people’s time by being as brief and as concise as possible. Additionally, with the popularity of the BlackBerry, no one wants to spend 10 minutes scrolling through an email, it will quickly be ignored.

Limit Forwards.

Instead of forwarding an entire string of emails, if at all possible, cut and paste pertinent information onto a new email. This saves the reader from reading through multiple forwards to find the info they want.

Proofread. Proofread. Proofread.

Check for grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. Especially check for subject-verb agreement and run-on sentences which are the most common errors. There’s really no excuse for them anymore - Outlook has a setting that requires “spell-check” before it will send message. Use it.

Business email is for business… only.

With the ease of setting up a Gmail account, you would think this would be a no brainer! Only use your company e-mail for business purposes and only use your personal e-mail when on your own time. Think before you type and think again before you send. If you don’t, HR could do the thinking for you…

Have one you’d like to add to the list? Let’s hear it - Add a comment!

Conflict Management 101

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on August 7, 2008

in Classroom 101, Communication, Gen-Y, Leadership and Managing

. 3 Comments

Conflict Management 101

Last week, I was asked to give a presentation to a group of emerging leaders at J&J, focusing around the topic of managing conflict. Without a doubt a crucial skill to develop on the road to being an effective leader. The funny thing is, we understand how important it is yet we spend so little time devoted to development this area. Why? “It’s uncomfortable, it’s difficult, it’s hard to simulate.” These excuses may be true; but it doesn’t diminish the importance for us to develop ourselves in this area.

As I began, I asked the group to give me the first word that came to their mind when I said the word “conflict” and to no surprise, I received quick and varied responses: “argument, disagreement, confrontation, loss of productivity” to name a few. Interestingly enough every single response had a negative connotation. In actuality, conflict is often the driving force to address problems or recognize different points of view. - all very positive.

Despite the fact that many of us see conflict as something negative, and don’t like dealing with it, there are techniques that you can implement that will help you better handle difficult situations.

Conflict isn’t the problem - it’s when conflict is managed poorly that it becomes a problem.

Below are some ideas from my presentation, a logical approach to understand and effectively manage through conflict, aptly named “The Ladder of Thinking.”

Conflict Management 101

In conflict situations we are most often working from our own perception of the situation - from our own “story” so to speak. Conflict occurs when we don’t have a clear understanding of the other “story” and we believe that we are right and the other person is wrong.

So, to be able to take the first steps to resolve conflict, we need to be able to understand how the other person has reached their conclusion - which makes perfect sense to them but not to us! We also need to help them understand how we reached our conclusion and why.

First, we each have a puddle of “information” that we are experiencing - these are our observations of the situation:

Sometimes we have information that is known only to us
Sometimes the other person has information that is not known to us
Sometimes we have information that is overlapping with the other person

Secondly, we take this information, our observations - what we are seeing, hearing and feeling - and interpret it to give it meaning.

Conflict Management 101

Finally, we formulate conclusions about what is happening. It is important to note, though, at each step in the process, there is an opportunity for our “stories” to differ. This is because we each process information differently and then interpret this information in our own individual way.

When we have conflict, it is often because we are only focusing on the conclusion, and sharing that with each other. To explain it in more detail:

Rung 1 - Information/observations:

We notice different things - what we pay attention to is influenced by what we care about and who we are.

Rung 2 - Interpretations

Even if we have the same information to work from, we often interpret it differently, we have differing perceptions - I see the glass as half full, you see it as half empty; same ocean same time - to me the water is warm, to you it’s cool - and we make assumptions based on our interpretation. The ladders can pull further apart as you go up.

Two factors influence how we interpret our observations of a situation and begin making assumptions:

Prior Experiences
- Our past experiences impact how we view the present - understanding where someone is coming from in terms of their stance is very helpful
- Sometimes we are not aware of how much our experiences in the past are impacting us now
We live by our “rules”
- These past experiences develop into “rules” by which we live our lives.
- These rules dictate how we think we should behave, what is “right” and “wrong” or how things should be.
- Not everyone lives by the same set of “rules” e.g. I think it’s OK to be late for an appointment, it’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it - you are very punctual and always believe you should be on time otherwise it is disrespectful to the other person.

When these “rules” clash - conflict occurs

Rung 3 - Self-Bias

It’s human nature to form conclusions based on our own interests. When we observe and gather information, we are paying attention to what matters to us - This leads us to the conclusion that we are, of course, right!

Final Thoughts: Keys to Success for Managing Conflict

When you are in a conflict situation it is important to ensure that you make your “rules” known to the other person, and encourage them to articulate their “rules” so that you have a clearer understanding of each other’s interpretation of the information
Don’t fall into the trap of making assumptions that the other person understands how you reached your conclusion:
Don’t assume other people perceive the world the way you do
Don’t assume that others attach the same meanings to things that you do
Don’t assume that everyone will react the same way that you do

How do we stop ourselves making assumptions and gain greater insight into the other person’s story?

Show interest in their viewpoint
Be inquisitive
Work to understand why they feel or act the way they do
Don’t make judgments
Do not assume that either one of you has to be “right” and/or “wrong”
Be prepared to fully explore both sides of the story and accept that neither of you has to “give in” - you need to learn how to work through the differences to come to agreement

Accept that others may have a differing viewpoint and then understand that each of you see/feel/observe things that matter to you each individually - to work through the conflict you need to uncover what this is and how you feel about it. Remember, Conflict can be a positive thing if handled appropriately and if you embrace the Ladder of Thinking, you will be well on you way to productive conflict management. Just try it out a few times before you attempt to win over your boss…

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