I chose my husband and my co-Director to complete the communication assessments. I was really surprised, but pleased to learn that we all assessed my communication skills similarly. I was surprised because I am always looking for ways to improve my communication style and hoping that others perceive my behaviors positively. I was pleased because both my husband and colleague see me as a positive and competent communicator.
The one thing that surprised me the most was that my colleague perceives me as more "business-like" than I see myself. She feels that I am very organized and I like things to be a certain way. I took that as meaning inflexible and serious. She laughed and said I over think things. I do. But, she disagreed with me and stated that I am a very flexible person. She admires how organized and detailed I am and she feels I am very passionate about my work. She told me to take "business-like" in a good way. Okay.
It was insightful to learn how they both responded to the questions based on how I am with them before, during, and after conversations. For my colleague, she thought about how I am with staff and parents and then my reactions to those conversations when I am alone with her in the office. We do a lot of venting with each other. She felt that even when I vent about uncomfortable or unpleasant situations I am always respectful of others. That was really good to hear. My husband thought about how I am sometimes anxious about dealing with difficult people.
It was also insightful to learn that my husband views me as a confident communicator and his score was almost exactly the same as mine. He missed my score by one point on each assessment! I guess he knows me as well as I know myself.
What I learned from these assessments will help me to continue to be supportive, considerate, and respectful. I think the information I have learned from these assessments will help me to consider how I am perceived by others and whether I need to adjust that perception and improve. I strive to improve everyday. It's always a learning process.
Hey Mimi!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, you brought out a very poignant point. Apart of communication is indeed thinking about how you may be perceived when you communicate with others. That is very important to remember.
From this experience I have learnt that the people around me really pay attention to communication. I had not taken that into consideration before.
Continue to grow Mimi, that is all that we can do, grow and learn. When we grow and learn, it should make us better.
Nadia.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI had a very similar experience you did. I asked a close friend and a colleague to fill out the communication assessments. The results were almost identical to my own self-evaluation. I was shocked to find such similar results, yet it told me that I am a consistent communicator in various situations. From my interpretation, it sounds like I communicate in the same manner if I am with friends or with colleagues. It appears that you are the same way. I am learning that a competent communicator does have the ability to be self-monitoring, while still maintaining a consistent communication persona. It was great to see that someone else got similar results to me. Thanks so much for sharing!
Erin
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI also found that my husband scores about me where right on the money. After doing the assessments on myself, I could not believe that the verbal aggressiveness scale said that I might cross the line from "argumentativeness", which attacks a person's position or statements. I have always thought that I was a supportive person and hate to argue with anyone. Learning more about ourselves in our communication skills and other abilities makes us stronger. Thanks for sharing.