Flourishing People

The significance of the art of communication has been reinforced for me in a variety of contexts recently.  I do think it is more of an art than a science, with the requirement to be contextual and adjust to personalities and situations.

It came up in an Action Learning (AL) set when I brought an issue where delivery of my work depends on someone else who tends to get distracted or overwhelmed and therefore is not delivering their side of the bargain.  Despite some attempts to resolve the issue through one-to-one conversations, it became clear within the AL set that I need to resolve to sit down with all parties in one room so that we can all communicate and plan how to break through the impasse.  In this particular context, sensitivity to the needs of others is a key organisational value which sometimes gets in the way of running the business or at least makes it more complicated.

Another recent issue involved my facilitating a meeting between two work colleagues whose miscommunication over past weeks and months has led to tension and assuming the worst of motives behind simple actions or inactions.  It was uncomfortable for them to sit down together and talk it through, and not that easy for me to persuade them and risk coming over as a ‘headmaster’ figure.  But so worthwhile for their good, that of the team and ultimately for the organisation.

To add some science to the art, it is worth recognising that one definition of communication is “a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal or direction (information)”.

You need a sender, a message, a channel and a receiver.  Berlo developed this from previous work into the SMCR model.  Of course, if it is a two-way process rather than a monologue, then the participants take turns in being the sender and receiver and the chances of miscommunication increase dramatically.

Now my homework (again from the AL set) is to read some of Marshall Rosenberg’s writing on non-violent communication.  Hopefully that will help me and others to become finer artists in the sometimes lost art of communication.