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The Full Spectrum
Volume 2 Issue 1 January 2006
Welcome
Happy New Year and welcome to Volume II of The Full Spectrum! To ensure we are responding to your needs, please take a moment to complete the Reader Input survey ( see link below). Your responses will guide future issues of The Full Spectrum. It seems people are of one ilk or the other with respect to New Year’s Resolutions: either you make them, or you don’t. I confess I fall into the latter category. However, January is still a time for me to reflect on where I have been and where I am going. This year, in the spirit of staying on track, I made New Year’s Continuations. Nothing is drastically different from what I am already doing so I simply committed to keep going.
A colleague recently shared that she makes her resolutions in June and has done so for years. For her, June is a natural time for reflection. She has decided to stick with what works best for her and has not succumbed to January 1st as a deadline. The goals are the same. Many Resolutions are like quick-fix diet plans - they cease being effective the moment you get off the plan. This year, whether it is Resolutions or Continuations, and January or June, consider changing something more permanently. Make them habit-changes, not just diet plans.
If you have a question or a story that you’d like to share with us, please drop us a line at Inquiries@kscopic.ca.
21 Days
It takes 21 days to change a habit. Form a new one; stop the old one – you decide. Twenty-one days, a mere three weeks, and it will have become part of you. Is that inspirational or daunting? Regardless, success will be easier if you break it down. Using a new pattern of communication as an example, let us see how the 21 days might be undertaken.
Desired Goal: Use I Messages (IM) or I Statements (IS) whenever possible
in order to increase the opportunity for my message to be heard by the listener.
Approach
- Self-reflection – Think about the following: How have I communicated in the past? What is my ‘default’ style? What is difficult about forming this new IM / IS habit? What will make it easier?
- Review Materials – How do I construct an I Message? What is an I Statement? (see Volume I Issue 5)
- Rehearse – To make the message your own say it out loud several times, trying variations on the wording, until it feels or sounds more natural.
- Set a Concrete Goal – One per day, two per day…
- Seek Opportunities – Begin by looking for opportunities to deliver a positive IM / IS to test out your new skill.
- Debrief – After each one you deliver think about what worked and what you would like to improve on the next time.
- Listen – Observe conversations around you and pick out where IM / IS have been used, or where they could have been used for more effective communication.
- Support – For some it may help to have a 21-day calendar to check off each daily achievement as it happens, or to plan next steps. For others, enlisting the help of a friend or colleague might contribute to success. Find the method that will work best for you.
Twenty-one days can feel like a long time but it is less than a month. Imagine the possibilities once you achieve your goal – better communication, increased understanding, less conflict. Happy Communicating!
Team Tip
Set a goal with the team to work on one communication skill, for example I Messages or I Statements as above. Discuss at a staff meeting how to implement and follow up. Doing it as a team will help accomplish the change. Remember, Together Everyone Achieves More!
Reader Input Survey
We’re gearing up for Volume II of The Full Spectrum and would like to hear from you. Please help make this newsletter more useful for you and your colleagues by completing our short survey. As a thank you, all responses received by Wednesday January 25, 2006 will be entered into a draw for a $25 Chapters gift card.
If you would like to help your team achieve peak performance, contact Kaleidoscopic at
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