News Flash!  Communication Determines Effectiveness!

It has often been said that one of the key defining attributes of a great leader is their ability to communicate with others. The more you understand your audience, their wants, needs and motivations, the greater your ability to communicate well. This is not ground-breaking information but bears repeating. Think of the ‘conflicts’ that have colored your life and relationships. Can you attribute any of them to lack of communication? That fight with your spouse, the dispute with the landscapers, the late report from a subordinate?

Each of us is unique. We have own way of looking at the world, situations, others, and ourselves. Our perceptions color everything we think and do.

Some people want to win (however they define that) while others want to just go along with the flow of things.

Some people want to find new solutions while others want to follow established procedures.

Some people care deeply what others think while others care only about what they think.

Some people are methodical in their approach, others are more spontaneous.

Some people actively seek out group activities while others tend to avoid social interactions.

These differences reflect the impact of our personality on our personal preferences, the ways in which we prefer to work and interact with others. These preferences are likely wholly formed by the age of 15 or so. So while they are deeply ingrained the greater our understanding of our preferences, the greater our ability to manage the quality of our relationships with others.

As a manager, it becomes imperative for you to know and understand not only your own style preferences, and their impact on others, but the tendencies of others. It is the quality of the interaction between these varying preferences that will determine your effectiveness as a leader and manager.

The ProfileXT Coaching Guide (an outcome of the ProfileXT) has been developed to provide managers with insights into the potential challenges in coaching and guiding those who they direct. Knowing that your top salesperson is low on objective judgment may help you understand why he/she does not read detailed reports for example. So instead of getting frustrated, you develop an insight that allows you to understand that while reports are important to you, they do not motivate or necessarily contribute to the success of everyone.

In doing an exercise that provides insight into personal learning styles and preferences, you are afforded the opportunity of increasing interpersonal effectiveness and thereby team success.