Posts in category: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION BY MIKE GABBARD VICE-PRESIDENT HUMAN RESOURCES & FACILITIES GROUP MOTOMAN, INC.

As a clinical psychologist specializing in communication, Dennis has worked for more than 30 years with top executives and their teams to overcome barriers to ongoing success in their companies or organizations. He is the founder of New Insights Communication, a management consulting firm dedicated to the advancement of organizational development, and professional and personal growth. His executive coaching and business consulting programs focus on the areas of communication, listening skills, leadership development, change management, and conflict resolution.

Dennis is the author of three works which include Taking the Fear Out of Changing, No Hard Feelings, and Talk to Me: Communication Moves to Get Along With Anyone. He is a Clinical Professor at Wright State University School of Professional Psychology and has been a workshop presenter for such educational agencies as the University of Dayton, the Dayton Development Coalition, Sinclair Community College, and Miami University. He is President-Elect of the Dayton Area Psychological Association.

Now let’s give a big Motoman welcome to Dr. Dennis O’Grady!

KEYNOTE GIVEN BY DR. DENNIS O’GRADY: THE MOTOMAN COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE

Good afternoon folks. Better a heat wave than a cold snap, I always say. Course, none of us can control the weather, but all of us can control being better communicators. And that’s my topic comin’ right at ya’ for this great Friday meeting.

Hi…My name is Dennis O’Grady, and I can’t tell you how honored I feel to be here today to assist Motoman in educating and developing employees to become better communicators. We all know that good communication is the key to success at work and at home and at LIFE! I challenge the saying that talk is cheap, we all know that’s not true, talk isn’t cheap — it’s priceless.

I know how to improve your ability to communicate.

As your communications psychologist, I’m going to take a wild guess at what you’re turning over in your mind right now. Perhaps you’re thinking, “Here we go again, talking about the importance of teamwork and communication — but you know how highbrow leaders are — they just talk fancy and talk on and on but they never have to walk the talk like I do every day.” Well, you’ve got a point there, don’t you? Leadership talking about talk, gushing with enthusiasm, isn’t good communication. To be a good communicator one must be able to see the world through the eyes of those they talk to. They must walk a mile in the shoes of others in order to be heard. This is a perfect example of why most programs don’t stick. Management does not walk the talk.

I don’t mind pessimists, because I IS one. Perhaps like me, you can be a tad bit cynical at times, too. Something like this: “Yeah, it’s a new communication initiative all right, but shoot…everyone knows not much is going to change around here anyway, so why bother. I’ll just lie low and fly under the radar and put a big grin on my face and watch how this one goes splat on the wall and falls off the charts, just like all the other ‘great’ initiatives we’ve been through. Been there…done that. I’ll just do my job and keep my bright ideas to myself. I’ll get along by giving the appearance that I’m going along with the program. Humph! It’ll just be a fad that’s here today and gone tomorrow, and not much will have changed. ”

Perhaps you see this as another “feel good” or “here we go again” HR program…but that’s simply not true.

If you are an Intuiter leader, you have the solutions at hand to fix the vexing problems that are facing your work group or family clan. Way to go! You are the Empathizer-type communicator who is welcome at my Communicator Table any old time. In fact, if I ask you for a solution to a problem that I’m facing, and you know and care for me, I will automatically attempt to put your suggestion into action in my business or personal life. Why? Because your small suggestions net huge rewards when implemented! That’s why I speak so highly of your leadership subtype in the Talk to Me© communication system.

WHAT IS THE INTUITER LEADERSHIP SUBTYPE?

There are two communicator types (Empathizer vs. Instigator) and four leadership subtypes that can be identified during an interview or testing process, using the New Insights Communication Inventory–Leadership Scale or NICI-LS. If you are an INTUITER, you bring these strengths to the corporate or family communication table:

1. RADAR

You naturally pick up the mood of your team or family members, and you know when things are off kilter. You also are able to see the “elephant in the room” and have sound methods to get the elephant out of the house. And you listen with “three ears”…totally, completely, giving your full attention to your communication partner.

2. SOUL OF CHANGE

To disrupt unhappiness and lack of results, you are able to comprehend what needs to change immediately. You are the heart and soul of service, wishing and striving for the good of everyone. You firmly believe people from all walks of life can get along a whole lot better if they try. You care so much that your heart can hurt, causing your gas tank to run low in your blue communicator car.

3. EMOTIONAL EXPERT

Because you are an emotional expert, you can easily walk in the shoes of others. You can also be an emotional sponge, or you can allow others to soak up your positive energy. For you, empathetic listening is key, and you have compassion for those who dig holes to throw themselves in, head first. Unlike many, you actually live your life.

4. INTUITS SOLUTIONS

You have the wonderful ability to feel in your “gut” what actions a team can take to move achievement up a full level. You comprehend the competing viewpoints of A vs. B, but you are swiftly able to create solution C. Because you put a smile on your face when you’d rather frown, you are able to steer around potholes on heavily traveled Talk Road. You know when procrastination rules and when real solutions aren’t being used. Your light burns dim around dishonest people who prefer psychodrama to real progress.

5. INTEGRITY

You are always so nice that, as an ethical leader, you may not always be effective. You walk the talk that honesty is a virtue, and that telling white lies is a vice. Since you are an ethical leader whose halo sometimes gets in the way, you struggle to be like a bull in a china shop, pushing ahead hard for the delivery of effective results. Sometimes you’re so nice people think you walk on water, when you’re actually drowning in an emotional cesspool. You are tremendously trustworthy, and you can be loyal to a fault.

6. A HEALING HEART

Yes, you’ve had your heart broken now and then. That’s why you intensely dislike people hurting, being left behind, or left out. You realize that out of the ashes of grief comes new growth. True, you sometimes ride yourself too hard by using a whip of criticism, but you intuitively understand “Why it’s darkest just before the dawn.” And your biggest preference is to get along with others. In your humble opinion, repeating avoidable conflicts is a huge waste of time, talent and energy.

7. ENERGY PRODUCER

You are a very powerful person. You light up this dreary world with your bright energy. However, sometimes you forget that you’re in the driver’s seat of living your own life. Why do you feel downright glum? Energy vampire “negatalkers,” who blame others for their own faults, can too easily siphon off your energy. You can learn how to pull out the straw which is stuck in your skull, sucking out your last drop of energy. In general, you strive to serve by injecting energy and productivity into the world around you, instead of arrogantly messing up what has already been achieved.

8. ACT STUPID WHEN STRESSED

You aren’t a saint, although some people who know you think you are! You will switch talk lanes when stressed out, just like we all do. In fact, when the fog of negative emotions makes driving conditions difficult, you are prone to switching talk lanes from feeling bad to doing something stupidly self-defeating. The big picture: You are the backbone and spirit of the reality family and the dream team.

9. SKEPTICAL OF SELF-IMPORTANCE

It just takes one! You are the one…you are the power…the power is in you! You live the golden rule of talk, namely, “I’m trying to make things better for people, because I dislike watching people making the same mistakes over and over again.” You’re right on the communication dime. For example, if we’re not going to listen openly to what each other is saying, then why talk on and on? Additionally, you automatically “check in” to see how happy people are. You easily program in new communication habits by not taking things so personally. It doesn’t take two; it just takes one–you. Why won’t you believe it?

10. EXPERT LISTENER

You don’t blow your own horn much. When you are discouraged, the light of your life energy dims like a string of bright lights on a festive Christmas tree when the plug is pulled. You are able to really “hear” what others are saying in their words, tones, or gestures. You are also able to “hear” what is implied or denied in a conversation. You do know where people are coming from. You listen intently as you give others the strength of a caring pair of ears, without expecting anything in return.

11. IT’S NOTHING PERSONAL, HARRY

In movies by the same name, Harry Potter is an Intuiter leader. Remember his intuitive leaps of faith, and how he knew, before anyone else, there were problems which had to be solved? And remember how his energy was drained by the dark forces of disbelief? Remember how, with a little help from his friends, he was able to make smart communication moves? As you travel along the two-way communication highway, magic will befall you, if only you stay focused on your goal map, which is there to guide you to your destination as well as to remind you why you are on this particular journey. Seemingly by magic, big results– results which will last — will emerge from the little steps you take as you travel along the two-way communication highway.

12. BY THE NUMBERS

To date, I’ve personally coached over 245 Intuiter leaders, of whom 32.6% are women and 19.6% are men. Overall, 52.1% of my sample of 470 subjects were Empathizer communicators, which means at least half of the people you shake hands with today are E-types! Whew. We’ve traveled a long way to get where we are today!

An Intuiter leader usually demonstrates interpersonal excellence by using negative emotions in positive ways, emphasizing and providing the energy to jump-start needed changes, changes that are in the best interests of all.

NEW VIEWPOINT “C”…DO YOU NEED A CHANGE TODAY?

Is a change needed in your team or family? Then consult the E-types sitting around your communicator table, because E-types get an “A” on the Change report card.

In fact, Intuiter leaders (Empathizer-type introverts or ETI’s) have the uncanny ability to understand viewpoint A…while being able to understand a polarizing or opposite viewpoint, B…while simultaneously “seeing the light of change,” correctly intuiting new viewpoint, C.

Teamed up with I-types who are comfortable leading the way, the full-steam-ahead team is unstoppable, when the advice of E-types is implemented.

INTUITERS TALKING

Of course, Intuiters have their breaking points, too. A 20-something Intuiter leader recently told me:

Why do people have earplugs in their ears? I’d like to say “You’re not listening to what’s coming out of my mouth! You just want to jump in with your ideas!” In the past, when someone would start talking, I would stop talking. Why ask me a question if you’re not interested in the answer? Now I make sure I assertively express my thoughts. I will talk over, interrupt, and redirect the flow of conversation, in a respectful manner, to get my point across. I guess that’s what you mean when you encourage us to adopt the strengths of your opposite communicator type!

Intuiters struggle with saying: “Listen to ME….Listen UP team!” But assertively pushing for positive change is a good thing. The results-driven Talk to Me© system heals the Achilles heel of insensitivity, of not listening. Unfairly critiquing one’s self drains the fuel tank and stalls him or her out.

WHY LIFE’S NOT ALWAYS GOOD FOR INTUITER LEADERS

“The Expert Listener” is a great description of all Intuiter leaders. However, a few downsides of being an Intuiter leader do exist. The Intuiter leader:

• Experiences unfair self-critiques that drain the fuel tank
• Stalls out from procrastination
• Loses focus when upset
• Is prone to “extremism” or over-reacting
  
• Says “yes” when “no” is the right answer
• Is shy and wonders how to talk to people
• Pulls back when there’s a conflict
• Is prone to feeling hurt from corrective feedback
• Finds that his energy drains when he feels down
• Discovers that it is hard to be like a duck and let water roll off her back
• Has a high need for affection, affirmation, expressions of appreciation
• Feels like the workhorse, or feels unequally yoked

THE EXPERT LISTENER

You, too, can actively listen to diverging viewpoints without getting trapped in either side of an unproductive debate or power play. You are able to correctly intuit and follow the “moderate” path which will prove to be the best solution for everyone involved. Take great heart in your talents, my dear Empathizer-type communicators! No matter what, keep speaking up, because you, your ideas, and your actions are what light up this world!

WHO IS COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGIST DENNIS E. O’GRADY, PSY.D.?

Dr. Dennis O’Grady is a Dayton region relationship coach, corporate trainer, and keynote speaker. Dennis is the developer of the innovative person- and results-driven Talk to Me© effective leadership and teamwork communication system, which is also a marital and relationship enhancement approach. For 30 years, Dr. O’Grady has focused on the areas of effective communication, constructive team relationships, and change management. Call today to consult with O’Grady, or preview a copy of TTM at www.drogrady.com or at Amazon.

THE COOL HEAD OF IMPASSIONED LEADERSHIP

A profit-driven company is a body that consists of a head (leaders), a heart (managers), and hands (rank-and-file employees). Some work can get done when one part isn’t operating well, but not for long. Without the cool head of impassioned leadership, for example, the heart still pumps hard and the hands are busy, but there is a great expense in the lack of coordination. The Talk to Me© system values each part equally and sets up a broadcasting system which enables the strengths of each player while disabling their weaknesses.

WHAT IS THE SEER LEADERSHIP SUBTYPE?

There are two communicator types (Empathizer vs. Instigator) and four leadership subtypes that can be identified during an interview or testing process, using the New Insights Communication Inventory–Leadership Scale or NICI-LS. If you are a SEER, you bring these strengths to the corporate or family communication table:

1. ABILITY TO “SEE” THE WRITING ON THE WALL. You are able to quickly see what new programs or directions will work for customers and which will automatically fail. You tell the truth and listen more than talk, to better know what’s really going on.

2. FAIRNESS FOR ALL. You are able to comprehend the fairness and equity of new decisions, as well as their impact on relationships, thereby avoiding costly mistakes. You dislike “I know best” or “I’m right and you’re wrong” ineffective leadership extremism. You care about people, not just about their money, and thus you can sleep at night.

3. UNCOMMON COMMON SENSE. You are able to live where the rubber meets the road, and you don’t fall for looking through “rosy pink colored glasses.” You may not have “book smarts” but you do have “street smarts.” Unlike many, you learn from life.

4. PREDICTIVE GENIUS. You are able to predict which strategies will fly or fail, based on your uncanny ability to look into the “crystal ball” of the future. An Achilles Heel for you, however, is that you get your knuckles bloodied trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

5. BREED CUSTOMER LOYALTY. You are able to command great respect and loyalty, not only because you put your customers’ needs first, but you also genuinely care about their satisfaction and frustration, over the long haul on the two-way communication highway.

5. FOCUS ON MEASURABLE RESULTS. You are able to take the pulse of team health and accurately measure how well things are going in the field, by how your customers and co-workers initially react to new programs or marketing ideas. You will give your weighty opinions and insights when asked, but too often you aren’t prudently consulted.

6. AUTOMATIC TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION. By anticipating how critical feedback might embarrass team members or force a reduction in their confidence, you are able to steer around many talk accidents and communication mistakes waiting to happen. You have uncanny relationship savvy.

7. OPPOSED TO DOING MORE OF WHAT ISN’T WORKING. You are able to see the target goals map, and when what is proposed or attempted isn’t working, you are open to the change of doing something different. You are confused and concerned when leaders stay stuck in the rut of doing more of what doesn’t work, thereby wasting time and money and cutting down team morale.

8. WISDOM EARNED THROUGH PAINFUL EXPERIENCES. You know through real life experiences, what “real people” like you will like and dislike, what they will pay for or despise. Therefore, you are an incredibly trusted adviser, one whose opinion is sought by the “average guy or gal” to decide if a product is worth the time and investment. Although humble, you do know best.

9. ROLE MODEL HOW TO GET ALONG WITH ANYONE. You are able to work things out when there is a conflict, and you are able to bring hidden agendas to the surface so they can be addressed. You know that just crunching numbers doesn’t inform you how people are going to respond or react.

10. SMART IS…AS SMART DOES. Forrest Gump, in the movie by the same name, is a Seer leader. Remember his uncanny wisdom in the phrase, “Stupid is, as stupid does!” Seers get what smart ideas are stupid communication moves. On the Talk Highway, stupid driving that chops down morale…cuts off top quality customer service…puts off vibes that don’t retain good employees.

A SEER leader shows respect to all levels, from the employee performing menial tasks, to the larger-than-life CEO.

SEERS TALKING

Seers, of course, have their weaknesses too. One weakness: to stay loyal to people who aren’t being loyal. The results-driven Talk to Me© system heals this Achilles Heel. A Seer leader recently told me:

How am I supposed to get all excited about something that’s not going to last, or doesn’t make sense, or has no qualities of being a good program? How am I supposed to sell what I don’t believe in? I have street smarts, but executive decisions are made on book smarts. Sometimes I think our core leadership can be too smart for their own good!

You can’t chop off the hands or legs of your team members and expect them to compete effectively in the race, either!

YOUR COMMUNICATOR SEER STYLE BY THE NUMBERS

How unique are you? 24.3% of all communicators in relationship to you (or leaders you interact with at work) are Empathizer-type extroverts or ETE’s. 7.4% of Seers are male, and 16.8% of Seers are female. Thank your lucky stars, Seers! Overall, about half of all communicators are Empathizer communicators, and half of all communicators you meet on Talk Road are Instigator communicators.

Lastly, don’t you find it astonishing that E- and I-type communicators are evenly divided between the sexes?! This sheds a whole new light on the brave new world of effective communication, and you give us all hope that equally men and women can relate more productively and effectively using new talk tools.

WISDOM BORN OF EXPERIENCE

If you’re a Seer, you have wisdom born of experience. You have uncommon common sense, and you are able to sense what customers will be attracted to and will pay for. Yes, you will scratch your head in frustration at why other team members or life partners can’t seem to see the writing on the wall as clearly as you. But no matter what, you must keep speaking up!

WHO IS COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGIST DENNIS E. O’GRADY, PSY.D.?

Dr. Dennis O’Grady is a Dayton Ohio relationship communication coach. Dennis is the developer of the innovative person- and results-driven Talk to Me© effective leadership and teamwork communication system, which is also a marital and relationship enhancement approach. For 30 years, Dr. O’Grady has focused on the areas of effective communication, constructive team relationships, and change management. Dennis can be reached at 937-428-0724.

What takes the steam out of your team or puts steam into the adventure? Is your team going full steam ahead, or are you all stuck in a rut with your communicator bus hitting big bumps in the road, threatening to throw you all off course? There is hard data suggesting that many of our esteemed dream teams — those who have trouble sleeping at night — are worried in the workplace, for fear of crashing into or being thrown under the bus.

IN WHAT RUT MIGHT YOUR TEAM BE STUCK TODAY?

How does your team compare with normative data? Below are the top concerns quantitatively described by 100 teams in the Dayton region and around the country. Research consistently highlights specific challenges teams face today…team members’ own perceptions of team strengths and weaknesses. The data is valuable because these findings are what real work teams say stress them out.

AREAS OF HIGHEST TEAM CONCERN BY THOSE IN THE WORKPLACE TODAY

According to an interview with Craig Rider, many sources of pressure in the workplace are such interpersonal dynamics and missed communication opportunities as:

1. TENSIONS (agitation, anxiety, fear, worry) in the workplace ripple out like a huge rock dropped into a pond. Intertwined tensions, such as too much to do at work and not enough time to get everything done, and the “You should be able to do more with less!” pressures from higher up unnerve the good person who strives hard to please. Fear of the unknown, whether it be what’s coming up or what’s going on, stems from not communicating clearly enough.

2. LACK OF TRUST among team members is a fast way to bring down a project. Trust in action is the implicit faith that I won’t do something to further myself at your expense, by climbing over you or harming you outright. In short, it’s a basic, “Am I safe with you?” Example: “If I tell you something privately, will it come out later on, twisted, to haunt me?”

3. Employees report they do not receive accurate constructive FEEDBACK about performance. Without accurate and ongoing feedback, team members begin to feel, “I’m in this all alone!” Both managers and employees can be blindsided by undiscussed performance results…difficulties or extraordinary achievements. A balance of good and bad news — in about equal proportions — needs to be openly and carefully communicated.

4. FEAR OF CHANGE. Team members can feel unduly threatened by change. “I had all this figured out, and now the game has changed, and I don’t know what the new game is or whether I will be able to succeed with my new assignment, or even if I’ll have a job.” Although we all wish things would remain the same, we no longer feel we can count on someone saying, “We don’t anticipate making any major changes.” The team needs to talk accurately about transitions, even those which are thought to be seamless.

5. CONFLICTING GOALS. Common or impassioned goals and rewards are not cooperatively emphasized for congruency. Although we talk teamwork, we still reward individual performances. Levels of responsibility and communication expectations between levels are unclear, resulting in less motivation to just talk when things aren’t going well.

6. POOR COMMUNICATION. When open lines of communication are lacking, clarity on important goals is missing. Such a lack of timely information-sharing makes it hard to establish activities and timelines — goals are not met in a timely fashion, if they are met at all.

7. Uneasiness, stressed out, unhappy, disillusioned employees who do not feel connected to others, experience the LOW MORALE characteristic of discontented team members. “Here we go again!” cynicism results in low energy and an empty energy gas tank. The belief that “more of what doesn’t work will continue as the mode of operations” will continue to mess up project partnering. Employees think, “Why even bother trying something new because it won’t stick.”

Good communication is the sum total of everything that transpires in the workplace and beyond.

HOW TO VIEW THE WHEEL OF PROGRESS AND TEAMWORK IN TODAY’S MARKET

Each stress or opportunity category above is linked to a common charge, much like the spokes coming out of the hub of a wagon wheel. Team tensions stem from poor communication, causing less enjoyment as team members work together. In short, as team tensions rise, enjoyment of the creative problem-solving process declines, and project progress regresses or stops.

TURNING THE TOP TEAM WEAKNESSES INTO UNSTOPPABLE STRENGTHS

In rare private interviews, worried team members revealed what they’d like to improve:

1. BETTER COMMUNICATION, especially between departments, is at the top of the list. This stops chasms from forming between and among departments and teams.

2. Second on the list is BETTER LEADERSHIP communication, accentuating common-ground agendas with everyone pulling in the same direction, to eliminate the tug-of-war of hidden agendas.

3. BETTER FOCUS with a defined map that all can follow in their respective communicator cars, comes in at third place. Clearly measurable goals with defined purposes and timelines help prevent getting all fogged in on the two-way communicator highway, resulting in going the wrong direction…away from goals and project progress.

Teamwork relies on better communication among everyone.

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGIST DENNIS E. O’GRADY, PSY.D.

Dr. Dennis O’Grady is a Dayton region corporate trainer, keynote speaker, couples counselor, and relationship expert. Dennis is the developer of the innovative person- and results-driven Talk to Me© effective leadership and teamwork communication system. For 30 years, Dr. O’Grady has focused on improving effective communication, constructive team relationships, and change management. His latest book, Talk to Me: Communication Moves To Get Along with Anyone, is available at drogrady.com or at Amazon.

ABOUT THE RIDER GROUP

Craig Rider is a human performance consultant and president of the The Rider Group. His team surveys have been administered to teams in companies such as Huffy, Iams, Washington Inventory Services, Bank One, US Air Force, OhioHealth, Proctor & Gamble, and Goodrich. Data for this interview were obtained by administering the Rider Group’s Team Assessment Survey, which is equally effective with not-for-profit, professional groups such as legal, medical, government, court systems, financial institutions, and human services. Team survey results were evaluated for reliability and validity by Wright State University. Craig Rider can be contacted at www.RiderGroup.com or by calling (800) 648-8781.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Here we go again, talking about teamwork — but leaders just talk the talk and don’t walk the walk.” Well, you’ve got a point. Teamwork begins with good communication — first, with yourself; secondly, with whomever you’re talking; and thirdly, with your identified customers. Open and positive communication creates satisfying interactions with everyone.

TEAM TALKS

Let’s take a quick look at each side of the teamwork coin, the negative and the positive. The answers below come from an Instigator-type extrovert, Jerry Rex, who is the president of Morris South, Machine Tools Systems, which is a thriving privately held company.

WHAT CREATES A STRONG TEAM?

Clear goals and open, honest communication, along with a willingness to give credit where credit is due.

WHAT DISRUPTS A SMART TEAM?

Lies and secrets, hyper-active egos, incompetence, lack of effort.

WHAT ONE THING MAKES TEAMWORK DIE?

Lack of fairness or failure to engage the team.

WHAT ONE THING HELPS TEAMWORK FLY?

A common goal or mission with which everyone can relate.

ARE YOU MESSING UP COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY, OR ARE YOU IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS A LITTLE EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY?

Why can’t we just talk and listen to each other in a neutral mindset? We can when you use the Talk to Me© effective leadership communication system.

Let’s take a look at how to be negative. Here’s how to mess up teamwork with yourself and others:

1. SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS TO BE THE FALL GUY OR GAL. Making excuses and blaming others for failing to implement “little steps” to solve problems starves teamwork.

2. MENTAL RUTS AND TALK STALL-OUTS close your mind to new possibilities. Always needing to be right takes you down the wrong talk street.

3. EXTREMISM…either/or versus both/and thinking…is like putting your foot down on the accelerator as you near the end of a dead end street.

4. CHOKE HOLD ON THE STATUS QUO. This unfairness is created by infighting or by trying to unfairly control information, creative solutions, credit, partnering, or crucial resources.

5. You COMPARE APPLES TO ORANGES when you believe people should use your communicator style of Empathizer or Instigator, when in fact, they are your opposite communicator type who motivate and hear things differently.

6. UNPROVOKED CRITICISM occurs when someone you trust turns on you, dressing you down in public — a customer, boss, or coworker venting an angry spleen on you, leaving you upset and reeling.

7. MENTAL ANGUISHING clouds your mind with worries and woes and helps to spread the blues around at work, making you and others anxious.

8. By refusing to talk to people, or by holding back helpful critical feedback, you CUT OFF COMMUNICATIONS because you don’t want to hurt someone else or risk being shot down.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ALWAYS LEADS THE PACK

Today companies everywhere realize that by using cutting-edge communication tools, they will have a greater edge over their competition. On what one thing does everyone agree? “If we can communicate better, our team will be able to effectively and creatively solve emerging problems, and our profits and team morale will grow.” Good teamwork begins with you and me…which means that you and I must first walk our respective talk.

WHO IS COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGIST DENNIS E. O’GRADY, PSY.D.

Dennis O’Grady is an effective communication keynote speaker and workshop leader who delivers corporate training which actually improves communication fast, from top to bottom. Dennis is the original developer of the powerful Talk to Me© effective communication system. You can experience the benefits of his communication system directly by interacting with the 12 dimensions of the 2 communicator types (and switch within the 4 talk lanes when one is closed) in his book by the same title. Talk to Me: Communication Moves To Get Along with Anyone is available at www.drogrady.com and Amazon.