Philosophy

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
-Dorothy Parker

Communicating well is the key to organizational success. It also makes work infinitely more satisfying.

We expect a great deal of one another in the workplace. We assume that each of us knows how to do his or her job, manage time well, set goals, remain calm, be productive, behave kindly, think constructively, recognize and work toward organizational alignment, be innovative at crucial moments, strive toward greatness and do it all with charisma and a smile.

While it would be delightful, finding all of those qualities in all people at all times is impossible – and that’s completely okay.

We each have qualities that support those expectations, just as we each have qualities that move us away from those expectations. The trick is to be curious and recognize the difference and learn when those qualities are helpful or hurtful to our organizations and ourselves. When we can identify these qualities and communicate about them, we can move toward being able do our work confidently and with a smile.

Learning to communicate about the expectations we have of each other and ourselves at work makes everything at work easier. Yes, everything. When each person is able to lead themselves through their work with confidence, kindness and a sense of wonder about what we can accomplish, the workplace improves and goals are reached.

Building better communication skills makes this happen. Our ability to communicate is taken for granted every day: we are human, and humans communicate, right? Well, sure – communication is a benefit of being a homo sapien. But much as our ability to walk around on two legs is a benefit of humanness, if we want to be in good physical shape, we have to build the skills that create physical fitness. So, too, do we need to build our communication fitness. Just as keeping in good physical shape benefits how well your body functions over the course of your lifetime, the more agile, competent and aware you are in improving your communication skills, the more they will serve you throughout your career and your life.

Learning to communicate well and build skills that allow you to lead yourself and your organization through everything from the mundane to the heroic will serve you well. It’s also a lot of fun.