Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Misheard or Misinterpreted
There comes a time where communication is key or else conflict will arise. I learned in class that everyone handles conflict, and even communicates, differently.
I believe having the conflicts/communications lesson in the second month of school was a great place to set the lesson because we would have lived with each other for half of a semester, so for some, conflict and communication problems probably have arisen between some people.
An interesting thing I learned, but sort of already knew, was that I am a Compromising Fox. This means I have a "meet me halfway" or "you bend, I bend" mentality. Even though I'm a Fox, I'm also a Collaborating Owl, Avoiding Turtle and Accommodating Teddy Bear. These also all make sense as well, cause I can see different situations where I one of these personality animals come out. For example: the Avoiding Turtle comes out when I have a problem and I don't want to talk about it a that particular time and place. This example actually happened recently with me.
In my personal opinion, my greatest communication strength would be the ability to come up with a compromise. I may not have all the details in place, but negotiating is a strong point. My greatest communication weakness would be the fact that I don't open up about what's truly bothering me, I just let it continue until I break.
I believe I have communicated with my team fairly well, but I will continue to do what I have been doing this whole time. I will continue to tell my team of situations that arise in life and with the project. Also, to become a better leader, I will attempt to help in the resolution of a conflict that may occur.
Deidre R. Hardy
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Communication is Key
Communication
is important in every aspect of life.
Therefore, consistently learning about ways in which we communicate and
resolve conflict is important in order to remind ourselves that we always have
communication skills that we can improve on.
In the
Conflict Management Style exercise, my top conflict style was the Accommodating
Teddy Bear. I think this style fits me
well because I am more concerned about other people’s happiness more than my
own. I try to make sure that there is no
conflict and that if there is, that it gets resolved quickly. Lately two of my best friends have been fighting
with one another, and I am trying to help them resolve it. This is evidence of the “Teddy Bear” within
me. I want everything to be peaceful
between everyone, however though this is not always possible.
I would say
my greatest communication strength is being considerate of others because I
value other’s opinions and feelings.
Making sure that you understand and consider other’s opinions and ideas
is important for effective communication to take place. I would say my weakest communication strength
is not always effectively communicating my own opinion or feelings because I
often will let my opinion fall to the wayside in order for others to be heard
and matter. This weakness is not good
because it causes repressed feelings to sometimes build up and explode all at
once. This definitely affected me my
freshman year of college because issues with my roommate arose late in the
semester because I finally voiced my opinion and feelings that I had kept to
myself.
Communicating
with my Summit group this semester so far has been going well. However, in living with others conflict can
always arise. Ways that I can better
communicate with my group is making sure they know how I am feeling so that a
conflict doesn’t arise way after when it should have been previously
handled. Conflicts can be handled much
more easily and quickly if the issue is resolved right after the fact.
In order to
be a better leader, I would need to make sure that my opinion is known. Effective leaders cannot lead if they do not
have any opinions or morals in which they stand by.
-Caitlin L.
Communication - Cathy
During our class last Friday, I found out that my communication style is Collaborating Owl and my back-up style is Compromising Fox. This is pretty much what I expected. A lot of times, I feel strongly about my own opinion, but I also realize that others feel strongly about their opinion, so I don't always want to make people go along with what I say. I can recognize that they probably have valid points as well, so if we put our ideas together, it will be even better than what either of us could do on our own.
When it comes to communication, my greatest strength is that I try to be very considerate of the other person's feelings and remain as polite as possible, instead of being demanding and accusatory. I also try to use neutral terms and approach the conflict from an objective angle. That way, the other person won't feel like they are being attacked, and they will be more likely to act more rationally and begin good dialogue about the problem. My greatest weakness is that sometimes I am a bit of an Avoiding Turtle if I am not comfortable with the person or I don't want to "rock the boat" if I think it might be unnecessary.
In order to communicate better with my Summit team, I could make sure that I am being open about concerns I have very early, instead of avoiding them to the point where they become big problems. I haven't had an issue so far but I don't rule out the possibility since we are only 2 months in so far. Also, we could try to meet and delegate responsibilities so all of us know the expectations up front. In handling and resolving conflict, I could just make sure that I am trying to keep an open mind to other people's suggestions and just be honest all the time so it doesn't lead to miscommunication.
When it comes to communication, my greatest strength is that I try to be very considerate of the other person's feelings and remain as polite as possible, instead of being demanding and accusatory. I also try to use neutral terms and approach the conflict from an objective angle. That way, the other person won't feel like they are being attacked, and they will be more likely to act more rationally and begin good dialogue about the problem. My greatest weakness is that sometimes I am a bit of an Avoiding Turtle if I am not comfortable with the person or I don't want to "rock the boat" if I think it might be unnecessary.
In order to communicate better with my Summit team, I could make sure that I am being open about concerns I have very early, instead of avoiding them to the point where they become big problems. I haven't had an issue so far but I don't rule out the possibility since we are only 2 months in so far. Also, we could try to meet and delegate responsibilities so all of us know the expectations up front. In handling and resolving conflict, I could just make sure that I am trying to keep an open mind to other people's suggestions and just be honest all the time so it doesn't lead to miscommunication.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Conflict? Nah, we got this!
29 October 2012 Summit Blog:
Kay Honeycutt
This presentation could not have been better placed in our
schedule. Conflict will arise at some point in most situations; it’s
inevitable. Conflict in itself is not a bad thing as long as the individuals
involved know how to work together to get past it and, in the best
circumstances, learn something from it! Recently I have had to confront a
member of our project (Not a student member) about how a lack of communication
or even the method can cause confusion, and hard feelings. The last thing I
want to take away from this experience is anger or annoyance with anyone
evolved. I contacted the individual and as of now, the issue is out in the open
and attention has been called to it. It is hard to say whether or not it is
resolved – only time will tell. Lesson learned from this…. Even though texting
may be the easiest way to ensure immediate communication, it is NOT the best
way to approach any situation that may end negatively. Face to face should
always be attempted.
When dealing with a conflict I would have to say my
strongest communication strength is just not being afraid to confront the
situation. I don’t always jump right in and call it out; I consider the best
method for confrontation and to whom I should speak with. I always try to
consider how to word what I want to say and if something should come out wrong
I never hesitate to admit it and either apologize or reword it in a more
positive way.
My greatest weakness regarding conflict would have to be the
moments where I read too much into things or take too many things personally
when they are not meant to be taken that way. Example: while talking with one
of our advisers half the time the only response we get is “okay” or “thanks”.
It is completely possible that said individual could just be very busy. It is
also very possible that that person is not happy with the answers given and are
showing that in the response. Our contact with this adviser is mainly through
text thus making the tone of an answer impossible to know. I have a tendency to
automatically assume this individual is unhappy or upset with my responses and
I take it personally. I do this in many situations and it is very difficult. I
do realize when I do it and that makes it easier to stop myself and question whether
or not it is really something to fret about. If I can have a clear mind then I
am able to objectively consider the situation and confront it in the best way
if it is needed. This also aids in “picking your battles.” Too many people act
like the sky is falling every time anything happens. Thankfully I am not this
way too often and neither are the members in my group. Most of us are very easy
going and the communication is very open so we can decide as a group what is a
situation that needs to be discussed and how best to break it down and make
sure everyone gets something in the end.
As of this point in the semester, there have been no
communication issues within our group as far as students go. We all are very
open and considerate of the others and I love that about us! When issues do
arise (on topics from day to day life) there is always someone to get opinions
from and listen and I could not ask for anything better out of my group. One of
our girls had a very difficult situation recently and the three others spent
multiple conversations discussing how best to help her deal with and learn from
the experience and just be there for her in the end. We all were able to come
together and just be there for her. The situation was less than ideal but the
level of open communication has brought us even closer. (:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)