Transcript 612-5A - mrr (w) ZA2 webx

Leading Projects:
The Human Side of
Project Management
Communication
and Coaching
Communication and
Coaching: A Foundation for
Influencing
“Most people readily admit that their organization is
fraught with faulty communication, but it is almost always
“those other people who are responsible”
(Whetten and Cameron, 2007)
“The responsibility for communicating well with other
people of differing functions, personalities and influence
demands that scientific and technical professionals
continually improve their communication skills”
(Chambers)
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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The Communication Process
Encoding
Channel
Message
Message
Sender
Receiver
Noise
Feedback
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
Decoding
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Communication
Barriers - Dysfunctions
Filtering
Apprehension
Selective
Perception
Language / and
Semantics
Information
Overload
Emotions
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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Unskillful Communication and
Interpersonal Relationships
Abrasive,
insensitive,
unskillful
message
delivery
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
Distant,
distrustful,
uncaring
interpersonal
relationships
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Restricted,
inaccurate
information and
defective
communication
flow
Two Obstacles to Effective
Interpersonal Communication
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DEFENSIVENESS
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One individual feels threatened or attacked as a result of the
communication
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Self-protection becomes paramount
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Energy is spent on constructing a defense rather than on
listening
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Aggression, anger, competitiveness, and/or avoidance as a
result of the communication
DISCONFIRMATION
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One individual feels incompetent, unworthy, or insignificant
as a result of the communication
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Attempts to reestablish self-worth take precedence
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Energy is spent trying to portray self-importance rather than
on listening
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Showing off, self-centered behavior, withdrawal, and/or loss
of motivation are common reactions.
8 Attributes of Supportive
Communication
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Problem-oriented, not person oriented:
“How can we solve this problem NOT
“Because of you a problem exists”
Congruent, not incongruent:
“Your behavior upset me” NOT Do I
seem upset? No I’m not upset.”
Descriptive, not evaluative:
“Here is what happened, here is my
reaction, here is a suggestion” NOT
“You are wrong for doing what you did”
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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8 Attributes of Supportive
Communication
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Validating, not invalidating:
“I have some ideas but do you have
any suggestions” NOT “You wouldn’t
understand so lets do it my way”
Specific, not global: “You interrupted
me 3 times during the meeting NOT
“You’re always trying to get attention.”
Conjunctive, not disjunctive: “Relating
to what you just said, I’d like to ad
another point.” NOT I want to say
something regardless of what you
said.”
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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8 Attributes of Supportive
Communication
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Owned, not disowned: “ I have decided
to turn down your request because…”
NOT “ You have pretty good idea, but it
would not work here.”
“Supportive listening, not one-way
listening “What do you think are
obstacles standing in the way.” NOT As
I said before, you make too many
mistakes, You’re just not performing”
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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Descriptive Communication
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STEP 1:
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Describe as objectively as possible the event, behavior, or
circumstance.
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Avoid accusations.
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Present data or evidence, if needed.
STEP 2
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Describe your own reactions to or feelings about the event,
behavior or circumstance.
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Describe the objective consequences that have or will likely
result.
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Focus on the behavior and on your own reaction, not on the other
individual or their personal attributes.
STEP 3
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Suggest a more acceptable alternative.
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Be prepared to discuss additional alternatives.
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Focus on the alternative solutions, not on who is right or wrong.
General Coaching Guidelines
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State purpose & importance of what
you are trying to teach
Explain process to be used, be specific
Provide a demonstration
Ask questions to ensure understanding
Observe
Provide immediate & specific feedback
Reinforce success
Express confidence in person’s
Agree on follow-up
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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General Counseling Guidelines
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Build rapport
Probe to focus on specific problems
Seek root of problem from other person
Listen and respond with empathy
Explain the potential effect of the
problem on others
Seek solutions from the other person
Gain agreement for behavior change or
improvement
Agree on follow-up actions
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
Probing
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Reflecting
Reflecting
Probing
Deflecting
Deflecting
CLOSED
RESPONSE
(Generally useful
during late
stages of
discussion)
Advising
DIRECTIVE
RESPONSE
(Generally useful
when coaching)
Advising
Response Types in
Supportive Listening
NONDIRECTIVE
RESPONSE
(Generally useful
when counseling)
OPEN
RESPONSE
(Generally
useful during
early stages of
discussion)
Ineffective Listening
(How to Kill a Conversation)
Thoughts/Attitudes
 Not paying
attention
 Pseudo-listening
 Listening but not
hearing
 Hearing what we
want to hear
 Feeling defensive
 Rehearsing
 Listening for a
point of
disagreement
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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Phrases
We tried that once
That’s not how we
do things here
I have a better idea
That’s not your job
We’ll never find
Yes, but...
The timing is bad
Are you really
proposing that ?
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Gestures/Actions
 Deathly silence
 Raised eyebrow
 Furrow-brow
 Quickly change
subject
 Quickly offer
another suggestion
 Interrupting
Supportive Communication
Practice Exercise (1)
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You are the project manager for a new
product development team and have
convened a meeting of team members.
After growing increasingly impatient,
the team’s Manufacturing Rep. states,
"It is way too early for my involvement!
I can’t evaluate this design without a
prototype! You engineers don’t
appreciate how difficult it is to
translate a design into a
manufacturable product. ”
How will you respond? Give examples.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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Supportive Communication
Practice Exercise (1)
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How will you respond? Give examples.
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Problem-oriented, not person oriented
Descriptive, not evaluative
Conjunctive, not disjunctive
Owned, not disowned
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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Supportive Communication
Practice Exercise (2)
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A Functional Manager sitting in a design
review meeting states, ”Your review is totally
out of control. Where are you really at with
this design concept? You haven’t even
bothered to confirm the design in relation to
customer requirements. I see a lack of
teamwork and a general lack of commitment
to achieving the targeted goals. ”
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In terms of supportive communication, how
would you characterize this statement?
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How would you respond, using supportive
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communication?
Personal Management
Interview Program
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The interview is regular &private
Intent is continuous improvement in
personal, interpersonal, &
organizational realms - action-oriented.
Manager & subordinate plan agenda.
This is for both, not just the manager.
Allow time for interaction (1hr)
Use supportive communication for joint
problem-solving & continuous
improvement in tasks & interpersonal
relationships.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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Personal Management
Interview Program
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First – address previous action items
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Major agenda items might include:
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Managerial & organizational problems
 Organizational values & vision
 Information sharing
 Interpersonal issues
 Obstacles to improvement
 Training in management skills
 Individual needs
 Feedback on job performance
 Personal concerns and problems
Praise/encouragement mixed with problem solving.
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Conclude with review of new action
items.
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Communicating Supportively:
Behavioral Guidelines
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Differentiate: coaching vs. counseling.
Use problem-oriented statements.
Be congruent.
Descriptive, not evaluative, statements.
Use validating statements.
Use specific, conjunctive statements.
Own your statements.
Demonstrate supportive listening.
Implement personal management
interview program.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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“Rejected Plans”
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Review the case “Rejected Plans”
on page 271 of Whetten and
Cameron
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Do not go to the next slide until
after you have reviewed the case.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
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“Rejected Plans”
STATEMENT
1. Susette - probing
2. Leonardo - incongruence,
avoidance
3. Susette - reflective
4. Leonardo - global, more
congruent
5. Susette - understanding,
reflective
6. Leonardo - some evaluation,
descriptive
7. Susette - probing, conjunctive
8. Leonardo - probing
9. Susette - validating, probing
10. Leonardo – descriptive
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
STATEMENT
11. Susette - probing
12. Leonardo- descriptive
13. Susette - validating, reflective
14. Leonardo -congruence,
owning
15. Susette - agreement
diverting, focus on feelings
16. Leonardo - evaluative,
disowning
17. Susette – re-interpretive
18. Leonardo - validating,
probing
19. Susette - understanding
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“Rejected Plans”
STATEMENT
20. Leonardo - congruence,
owning
21. Susette - validating,
confrontative
22. Leonardo - congruence,
owning, descriptive
23. Susette – re-interpretive,
conjunctive
24. Leonardo - conjunctive,
validating, owning
25. Susette - validating,
re-interpretive.
26. Leonardo - congruence,
probing
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson
STATEMENT
27. Susette - probing,
evaluative/advice, confronting
28. Leonardo - validating,
owning, descriptive
29. Susette - understanding,
reflecting
30. Leonardo - specific, owning
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