Many people have the goal of becoming effective communicators. Character-based Communicators want more. Character-based Communicator are transformational communicators. And the growth never ends. 

 

Effective communication isn’t enough. Character-based Communicators are transformers.

What you do with what you have

Do you see what is, or what could be? Character-based Communicators see both. They don’t just communicate effectively, they communicate transformationally. They keep conversations dynamic and forward moving.

Problems are launching pads for creative envisioning. Complaints are foundations for new structures. Rejections are openings for new alliances. Conflicts are opportunities for synergy. “Enemies” are potential allies.

If I were talking about optimism and wishful thinking, you’d be right to suggest that Character-based Communicators are unrealistic. I’m not. Character-based Communicators don’t put a positive spin on something marginal. They seek the potential to create actual gold from a piece of lead. They discover the genuine opportunity in a seemingly limited situation. They speak to draw out possibilities.

From lead to gold

A classic example of transformation is the caterpillar turning into a butterfly. That, of course, is a natural process, and there is little we can do to move it along. Another example of transformation that uses deliberate intervention is the ancient art of alchemy.

The word alchemy defines a process of separating and joining substances together to purify each substance and then combine them in ways that produce a valued substance such as gold. The word alchemy is most commonly associated with medieval experiments attempting to transform lead into gold. However, alchemy involves numerous processes that, when understood, can be productively applied to anything we seek to elevate to its highest level. The term has been creeping into management and leadership literature in recent years. It’s a great example of what transformation means. You take what seems like lead and do what it takes to turn it into gold.

Transformation is reciprocal

Character-based Communicators don’t simply try to get others to listen to them and adopt their views. They want to influence and be influenced. They speak to touch and listen to be touched. They use what they hear to find their own gold. When transformational leaders and communicators get together, they lose track of who said what or who had what idea. Their relationships develop as new entities that have dynamic lives of their own. Often, everyone is stunned by what gets created.

Creativity is at the HEART of Character-based Communicators

Transformational communicators are inherently creative. They don’t just transform to solve problems. They transform to experience new possibilities. They don’t just create to fix things that don’t work. They create to make things work in new dynamic ways. There doesn’t need to be anything wrong for them to be motivated to find a better way. Transformation IS their way, their grace and their gift.

Creativity and transformation are at the HEART of the SpeakSTRONG Method. They are at the HEART of Character-based communication that works for you.