Change Masters Incorporated - The Blog

World class coaching delivered around the world™

  • Blog
  • Home
  • Sign-up for News and Tips
  • Change Masters Academy
  • Our Book

Archives for March 2014

Remote Communication Best Practice – Customize Yourself!

March 27, 2014 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

Customizing your communication to match the way otheBlog bubble bluers like to hear from you will manage your perception, get your remote communication heard or read, and ultimately dramatically increase your persuasive efforts. Here’s how you can do it. 

 

 

So often we make assumptions about what people need or want from us. Equally often, we’re wrong!  We tend to look at what we want, not what they want from us.  This is particularly true in terms of remote communication best practices.

When doing our leadership communication surveys, we continually hear about a disconnect between what people think they should do with their electronic communication and what people experience from them.  In other words, they may be trying to be thorough and clear, but their audience sees the length of the message and never even reads it or listens to it!

So here’s a radical concept – try asking people about what they have experienced in remote communication in terms of what is preferable for them.  Ask them what they’d like to see from you in the future in terms of the electronic communication approach they desire.  You can do this with colleagues above, below or across from you.

Here are seven excellent questions you can ask your centers of influence to figure this out and be seen as a better remote communicator:

  1. What have been your biggest struggles with electronic communication in the past?
  2. What communication forms are most preferable for you? i.e., scheduled calls; impromptu voice mail messages and electronic messages; email or text?
  3. How much detail do you like to receive electronically? 
  4. What are the best times to reach you?
  5. How often do you want to hear from me?
  6. When are your busiest times during the week?
  7. Could you send me a sample of an electronic communication you liked and tell me why you liked it so I can give you what you want?

These simple tips will help you manage your perception, get your remote communication heard (or read) and ultimately, dramatically increase your persuasive efforts.

2014 March – Change Masters President’s Letter

March 19, 2014 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

I am very excited to be able to share practical, valuable tips and updates on the exciting journey Carol Keers and I are enjoying. We see both the struggles and the best practices around the world.  I want to periodically share those with you. You will be able to quickly scan the topics and click on the “[… more]” link if you want the longer version.

Opportunity for new level of global leadership

The role of leaders is changing very quickly. There are both challenges and opportunities with change. We see more opportunity than challenge and want to have an ongoing dialogue with those who are looking for the opportunities. We see leaders are more starved for meaningful time. [… more]

 “But that is not what I meant!”

Tony Hseith, CEO of Zappos, had an interview test question for C level clients.  He’d ask them, “What’s the difference between a perception and a misperception?”  If they didn’t know or debated it, the interview was over.  If they said, “There is no difference between a perception and a misperception” – the interview continued. Recognizing there is no difference is key [more…]

Listening is the top leadership skill

   “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” – Peter Drucker

Mobile Tips … making life just a little easier:

Block a Caller in for your iPhone iOS 7
To block someone, go to Contacts then select a contact and hit Block this Caller. Users on the blocked list will not be able to call, text or FaceTime you.

Online video learning will be leveling the playing field for SAT tests

The organization that runs the SAT college-entrance test is shaking up its format, scoring and potentially the $1 billion test-preparation industry that has grown up around it.  Also in the works, according to the WSJ, is a partnership with Khan Academy to offer free online tutoring to counter the advantage wealthier students can gain from private test-prep tutors.  Dramatic Change is ahead.[…more]

I want to hear your comments and questions

Let me know what information would be most helpful in the future.  Your comments help me target what is most helpful to you.

“But that is not what I meant ….”

March 19, 2014 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

Tony Hseith, CEO of Zappos, had an interview test question for C level job candidates.  He’d ask them, “What’s the difference between a perception and a misperception?”  If they didn’t know or debated it, the interview was over.  If they said, “There is no difference between a perception and a misperception” – the interview continued. Recognizing there is no difference is key to being an excellent communicator.

“But that is not what I meant!”  was the cry of Jason when he saw survey data that showed the way he was understood. He could not believe that others did not understand his good intent, how hard he was working, and how committed he was to the project. “They should understand!”

While Jason’s first reaction was that others’ judgment of him was unfair …  it is a common reaction when people learn how others see them. When Jason saw what he looked like on video, sitting across the table from himself, he understood the perception. When Jason took full responsibility for his communication behavior it allowed him to align his intent more closely with his communication approach. It significantly impacted how others viewed him. He became a dramatically better communicator. We see it time after time with our clients.

So what can you do if you do not have a survey, a video of yourself, and a coach across the table?  The simple answer is to take more responsibility for your communication effectiveness without thinking someone else should understand.

There are many answers to the question, but lets start with the most common one ….

Think about the situation from the Other Person’s Point of View (OPPOV).  Craft your message content to the rewards, motivations, and fears of the other person in a concise way. (Try to limit to a maximum of three points). Deliver the message visually and vocally so that the other person understands you intent. Setting context at the beginning really helps such as, “I really like your idea and I need a couple of clarifications. Do you have a couple of minutes to discuss it?” The statement shows your intent is a positive one and you are being respectful of their time.  Your questions will likely be heard with much more positive intent than if you just walked up and started asking the person questions about their idea.

Trust is a filter the other person uses to create their own meaning from your words. The higher the trust, the more likely you will be accurately understood.  Trust is much more than whether you tell the truth. “Do you have my interests in mind?” is a natural question going through someone’s mind as they listen.

Confirming understanding is essential on important communications. “Do you understand?” is not effective.  “Please tell me specifically what you think I am asking you to do, because it is really important we get this right” is much more likely to gain accurate alignment.

For extra credit … think about how this applies to sending emails.  We will cover that at another time.

 

 

Opportunity for new level of global leadership

March 19, 2014 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

tourist_on_globe_PA_150_clr_2465The role of leaders is changing very quickly. There are both challenges and opportunities with change.

We see more opportunity than challenge and want to have an ongoing dialogue with those who are looking for the opportunities. What we see is that leaders are more starved for meaningful time than we have ever seen.

Many are feeling overwhelmed or at least unable to spend enough time on the important things in their life. The concept of time management that might give 10 – 15% improvement falls far short of the needs.
It feels like we need a 10x increase in effectiveness … when we have time to work on that.

As a small scale example: Over the last quarter century, Change Masters’ scope was to help thousands of individual clients.

  • After 20 years of coaching, we wrote our book “Seeing yourself as Others Do” to reach ten thousand people. The impact far exceed our expectations on a global basis. People asked for more.
  • After 25 years we started working on Change Masters Academy which launched last year with the potential to reach 100 thousand people on a global scale.

Each step has required moving forward with an idea that we test on a small basis. After failing a few times, we find what works because our customers tell us so. We then move another notch. It is as much about deciding what we will stop doing as it is about what we are going to do that is new.

The new tools available today allow you to lead in a new and more effective way. Managing and leading remotely … across the globe or across the building … is a challenge for most of us. We will share some approaches that work for our clients and we are continually looking for even better approaches.

We look forward to hearing your success stories and continuing to share valuable tips with you.

Next Page »

Follow Us!

Follow Us on  FacebookFollow Us on  LinkedIn

Archives

  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013

Change Masters Incorporated & Change Masters Academy © 2023