Communication Evolvement

I can truly look back and say that this course has truly enlightened me and brought new meaning to my communication with others. My journey throughout this course has raised my level of awareness and has motivated me to improve on my communication skills both personally and professionally. Furthermore, it was a pleasure working with such a supportive group and each of you has inspired me in someway. I thank you all for your opinions, suggestions, and perspectives. I wish everyone great success in the future and hope that you all can meet all your goals personally and professionally. Please remember that communication is an evolving cycle that continues throughout your lives and there is always room to improve on your interaction with others.

Team Development

When I sit back and reminisce about the groups that have participated in, in the past year I realized that somehow we have formed a bond and a mutual respect for one another. One particular group I was in was definitely hard to leave because the team was a supportive environment where everyone was able to demonstrate their strengths and was accepted for their weaknesses. Those who had weaknesses, was better informed and equipped once we said our good byes. I think when people are able to work cohesively and able to complete a task successfully, the goodbyes can be more emotional. Especially, since you have crossed obstacles and hurdles to complete a mission for a specific goal. One of the groups I was in had a luncheon for all the team members at a restaurant. This is a time to congratulate one another and thank each other for a job well done. Other groups I have been in, you complete the job and you move on to the next. In those instances the team did not work cohesively, it was more of get the job done and over with.

                 

I have met many people while taking my master degree. However, I have not formed a bond with any colleagues personally. At the end of my degree program I would definitely thank all my colleagues for the support and inspiration that they have provided me with through my journey. Although we may not know each other personally we all share a common bond through this journey and have been supportive as well as insightful. It’s important to have an adjournment because you are able to look back and recognize things you could have done better personally and as a team. It is a time to reflect and celebrate your accomplishments.

Conflict Resolution

 

Conflict is inevitable in our lives. No matter how well we get along with people, we are bound to have some sort of conflict in the relationship. One of things that my twelve year old daughter and I disagree with is chores. Basically, like a lot of children she doesn’t think she should have to do them. Therefore, we often go back and forth arguing about her doing them and why she needs to do them. Her argument to me is that I tell her too much to do at once, and it stresses her out and doesn’t motivate her to do chores. In order to eliminate my stress as a parent and her stress as a child, I decided to have a conversation with her on ways we could solve this issue.

 One of the things I learned about conflict resolution is that respect is always shown even to those who are younger than us. Meaning, just because I am the parent doesn’t mean I am always right. Dealing with issues in an objective way rather than pointing the finger is important in conflict resolution. Keeping this in mind, I decided to listen to my daughter express her needs to me. Having an open discussion allowed us both to see our perspectives and respect one another’s opinion. After listening to my daughter express how stress she gets when I tell her to do too much at once, we both agreed that if I wrote a list of things to do each day, she would be able to follow it and do her chores without feeling so stressed. As a result, of our compromise, I am happy to say my daughter has been doing her chores. She looks on the chore list everyday and checks off the chores when she is finished. In the end the conflict that frustrated both of us was able to get resolved because we both made efforts to respect each other and develop a solution that offered us both compromise.

What would you have done as a parent if you was face with this conflict with you own child?  What approach would you have taken?

Evaluating My Communication Skills

After evaluating how I communicate with others and how others view me as a communicator I noticed there were some differences and similarities. For example, my supervisor viewed my listening style as action oriented. Conversely, my husband viewed my listening style as content oriented. On the other hand, when I completed the evaluation on my listening skills, it concluded that I am a people oriented person. One of the things that surprise me the most is that I am considered a people oriented person. Since I am more of an introvert, I never perceived myself as being people oriented. After reviewing the evaluations I was able to recognize that different relationships require us to communicate differently. Understanding that there are differences in the way people communicate is important on a personal and professional standpoint. Another important lesson I learn through this exercise is that communication is a never ending learning experience. Therefore, it is important to make goals whether personally or professionally to improve on the blemishes and strengths we have when communicating. We should always dissect and work towards improving our flaws and building on our strengths in order to communicate effectively.