CONNECT

May

2022

Connecting at Work and Home Part II

Last time we talked about the difficult person that may be in our life. Maybe you have a really fun person you love to be around. The type of person who lights up the room or always has a story to tell.

This person often brings lots of energy. On the other hand, this person may constantly be forgetting something. From time to time this person may wear you out because of the amount of talking he or she does, or you love listening to this person and have to force yourself to leave so you can get some work done.

Can you picture this person?

Fun, social, positive, but may seem a bit irresponsible or just forgetful. Maybe this is you, if so thanks for all the positive energy you bring! If this is not you, how do we communicate in a way that connects with this person?

Like I said last time, we are predictably different so if you live or work with someone like this and you do not understand them try the following strategies to connect better.

Give them plenty of time to share their ideas. For some of us this is a test of our patience, but it will make them feel valued
Have fun with them when you talk. When the conversation gets a little tense, these people often respond well to being goofy to lighten the mood.
Be light on the details. This person may get bogged down by details and will probably forget many of them so keep it simple.
Know you will have to follow up with this person. None of us wants to nag, but this individual will probably need extra reminders.

We all have strengths and growth areas so help this individual be in situations where the strength in being social will bring success. They will like you even more for it and you will be connecting more with them.

Do you know someone with this style? Is it you? How can you adjust to connect better with this person the next time you interact with him or her? If you want to learn your style, go here to invest in an assessment to understand your style and get thirty pages of feedback, tips, and further reflection tools on how to connect with others based on your style. See you next time. Lead Well!

May

2022

Connecting At Work and Home Part I

Do you have to deal with a “difficult person” at work or home? Or at least you think he or she is difficult. Let me illustrate.

You are in a meeting and this person has no problem sharing his or her opinion. Maybe it feels like he or she is trying to take control all the time. This person seems to ALWAYS be playing devil’s advocate. Quite honestly, he or she is too aggressive for your liking.

This person is confident and assertive and does not like routine. They try to take charge, but it feels like there is no structure from this person. Aargh!

Are you picturing someone like this? Are YOU this person?

We are all different, but we are predictably different and over the course of the next four blog posts I want to share a tips to help you connect with these different styles. As leaders one of the most important aspects of what we do is communicate. My hope is each post will give you a few tips to help you be a better connector with those you lead at work or home. If you want to dive deeper on any of this because I am only scratching the surface, please reach out.

How can you communicate in a way that connects with this individual? Let me give you a few tips:

Be direct and brief. These people do not like the details, so get to the point.
If you need this type of person to make a decision, provide options. This reassures them that they are in control and you are not telling them what to do.
Stay focused on the result you want to accomplish. They live by the idea of “just show me the baby.” They don’t care about the process.

If you are like me, you’d rather have people adjust to your style, but great leaders at work and home adjust to connect with what is important for the other person. This is just the first part of a four-part series looking at different styles of communicating.

Do you know someone with this style? Is it you? How can you adjust to connect better with this person in the next twenty-four hours? If you want to learn your style go here to invest in an assessment to understand your style and get tips on how to connect with others based on your style. See you next time. Lead Well!