I set my computer to open to the desktop when it wakes. Clicking the locked button only took a moment, but it was an unnecessary step that I took several times a day. This is what Lean Manufacturer Paul Akers calls a two-second improvement. You probably need your computer password protected, so that’s likely not an improvement you would make. But I suspect there are a thousand things like that that you could do that would eliminate unnecessary steps in your work.
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My team and I are taking my year long communication empowerment training. And by taking, I don’t mean reviewing it and saying, “Oh, that’s nice.” I mean taking it and letting it challenge us. I mean taking it and letting it change us. I also mean taking it and letting us change it.
The process takes me back to that moment when I deeply decided to be a player in my own life, and that what I have to say is important. It was a kind of a Helen Ready, “I am woman, hear me roar” moment. Now, today, as I reaffirm that awakening, my commitment has a much different tone. The drive – the needing and demanding to be heard I once felt – has mellowed. I am my deepest voice’s most loyal listener. If no one else offers me as careful an ear, I am happy with my own listenings. I still strive for clarity to inspire synergy and communion with others. But the need for people to understand me immediately and completely and my frustration when they don’t has lifted. I listen much more now. I treasure my communication skills more for the way they help others have their say than how they enable me to have mine.
My initial decision that my voice is important and my commitment to make my voice heard was a powerful initiation. At this stage in my life I enjoy the blessings from those efforts. I worked hard. I’m not working as hard at it anymore. The heavy lifting created a platform for a quest that isn’t a burden. My re-commitment to authentic communication is light, playful and fun.
That’s me in the pic, receiving my “Certified Speaking Professional” award in 2006. Oh, boy. Did I ever earn it!
Hello Everyone! Cassia here,Meryl and I have been going through the eLearning and practicing what we preach, so to speak. Week One of the eLearning asks you to reflect on you communication past and I wanted to share some of the things I have learned in my communication journey.
When I first came to work for Meryl three months ago, I felt fairly confident in my abilities as a communicator. I had pride in my ability to resolve confrontations and felt my communication with those around me was clear and kind.
It wasn’t until I spent some time helping Meryl refine her descriptions of the four communication styles, that I began to reflect on my own style and voice. It was like wiping the mirror clean of all of that debris that had blurred my image before; like lifting a veil; like walking into a brick wall. I realized how I would change my style with different individuals but mainly identified with the Achiever style.
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This page offers a plethora of fantastic tools and free resources. Start with the Online Tools, where you can take the Communication Style Inventory and learn what style you lead with. Online Tools also contains inspirational movies, an interactive exercise and a tutorial on how to use PowerPhrases! You can view the SpeakStrong database of helpful articles, subcribe to the newsletter, blog, or quote of the day. There are also some free downloadable posters at the bottom!
