Crystal Lim-Lange’s Post

I said to everyone this morning - if you don’t remember anything from this Conflict Skills workshop, just remember the Golden Rule - “Intent Before Content!”. Before you say something that could sound confrontational or challenging, take a pause and create a little moment for sharing your intent. This brings people into your mind and heart and creates empathy, priming them to listen better to what you will say next, and also demonstrates thoughtfulness rather than impulsivity. Some examples of intent statements: “I see this as a matter of (honesty / transparency / insert relevant values word) so I am going to be quite direct about this.” “I was hesitating about whether to speak up because I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I feel quite strongly on this issue” “I know it may be a risk to speak up on this, but I’d like to speak quite directly about how I feel.” There’s something about this pandemic that has triggered a wave of corporates reaching out to us for training on handling difficult conversations and creating psychological safety, and it’s a real joy to see people learn these simple but powerful principles. #leadership #empathy #emotionalintelligence #learningandevelopment Dr. Gregor Lim-Lange