Communication Bridges

After 16 years in non profit work there is one pattern I have seen over and over again. This week I saw it again. 

I was sitting with a client and she was telling me the experience that she is having with the Executive Director of the non profit she is working for. My client is extremely compassionate and highly detailed. She was drawn to this non-profit and the director because of the director’s vision in the area that she carried so much compassion for. Sounds like a match made in heaven. 

And with the right communication tools it can be. 

What happened here, as I have seen so many other times, is that the highly visionary director innovates based on what is in front of them. The ability to shift gives visionaries amazing resilience when they need to adapt, but can leave a team of people confused. There is a communication breakdown, which leads to doubting the character of the visionary leader. At the same time, the visionary leader is seeing that the compassionate, detailed, or highly organized person is starting to enter distress. They receive that as lack of commitment to the vision and further breakdown of relationship occurs. Minor acts of disconnection can become major acts of betrayal or lack of trust. 

Is this the cycle that is bound to occur with every visionary leader? Absolutely not. Bridges of understanding are built when we learn and celebrate each other's communication styles. As more confidence and honor is given to the questions and passions of others the bridge becomes stronger. This, however, does not happen by accident. 

Group Communication workshops are extremely effective ways to bring conversations to the table and restore trust. Life Languages™ provides a framework that doesn’t just diagnose, but can be used to recognize and improve communication immediately and in all relationships. My workshop proposals are designed custom for your team. Message me to learn more.