Create a blog posting describing how you
can integrate supportive communication in your present position, utilize the
guidelines detailed on page 165 and describe the expected outcomes that may
result from your efforts.
I believe that supportive communication is
absolutely necessary in a professional environment as many forms of
communication need to be addressed in order to ensure success for a team or an
organization as a whole. The following listed forms of communication are necessary
to ensure that a team can gain success in their areas of concentration and that
all departmental and managerial levels have an understanding of what I going on
at all levels. The success of one team in an organization is usually the
success of everyone, as everyone is connected in one aspect or another.
Congruent communication allows for the use of honest
verbal statements that match the thought and feeling of the individual
addressing the problem at hand. Congruent communication is important as all
team member and levels of management should always have an open and honest
relationship, so problems are addressed and not overlooked.
Descriptive communication allows individuals to
describe an objective occurrence, your reaction to it and offering a suggested
alternative. Descriptive communication is important as it allows for an issue
to be addressed immediately, without having to “beat around the bush” of what
the issue may be. It also allows for your reaction to the issue to be noted and
a solution suggested so an overall picture of the issue is painted to allow for
corrections.
Problem oriented communication allows for the
problems and issue to be focused on, instead of the personalities or
characteristics of people involved in the problem. This helps with ensuring
that actual departmental issues are being addressed that will in the long run
help with the outcome of the work that is being produced.
Validating communication allows people to focus on
statements that communicate respect, flexibility, collaboration, and areas of
agreement. Validating information is very important in a team setting as a team
must be able to speak with each other and suggest ideas to the group that will
be considered and respected. If the idea at hand cannot be used for any reason
it is important that the idea is at least listened to and allowed to see if
there is any flexibility to the suggestion at hand.
Specific communication is important in many areas as
well in a department, as it allows departments to focus on specific events or
behaviors and avoid general or extreme statements which may be false. I
especially think that specific communication is necessary at the managerial
level to ensure that a team understands what its supervisor is trying to
address. If a manger uses general statements or extreme statements then the
team may never get a clear picture of what it is they are trying to achieve.
Conjunctive communication allows teams and
individuals to focus on statements that flow from what has been said previously
and facilitate interaction. In my opinion this is especially important at a
team level as team members tend to have many conversations without management around.
My teammate and I have many conversations where we bounce ideas off of each
other or look to each other to ensure we have the correct information on our
policies and procedures. It is imperative that we listen to the information
that we are telling each other so our statements can flow smoothly on what each
of us has previously said so we can then take action on what it is we are trying
to accomplish.
Owned communication focuses on taking responsibility
for your own statements by using personal words such as “I” instead of “we.” I
believe that this is key to a department as there are times when one individual
may have to speak for the team as a whole. I think that taking responsibility
for your own feelings and statements allows for the team as a whole to agree or
disagree with what is being said so an overall comprehensive conclusion can
stem from how each individual may feel about the topic at hand. I think it is
very important to take ownership of both words and actions, as there may be
consequences for a whole group if it is interpreted that everyone may feel a certain
way about an issue.
Supportive listening focuses on using a variety of
appropriate responses, with a bias toward reflective responses. I think
supportive listening in an organization is one of the only ways for it to
operate effectively. If everyone spoke and no one listened, no organization would
be successful in what it was they were trying to achieve. I think that actively
listening to someone takes time and effort to really understand what is being
addressed so corrective actions can take place that will enforce positive
changes in an organization. If supportive listening is ever overlooked then I think
it can and will be a huge detriment to a team or organization.
I believe that use of all of these forms of
communication can be used in a variety of ways in my current position. I
strongly believe that my efforts in using these forms of communication would definitely
help me with enhancing my critical thinking skills and professional skills in
learning how to become a better leader and supervisor. I believe that the level
of positive interpersonal relationships I currently hold will be enhanced just
by strategically implementing the above listed forms of communication. I also
think that fostering these interpersonal relationships can then lead to higher
productivity, fewer conflicts, higher quality and faster problem solving. I
strongly believe that implementing these forms of communication will not only
help me as an individual but will also teach me how to interact at various
levels of an organization and better prepare me for a role in upper level management
which is where I hope to be one day.
