LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TACTICS FOR LEADERS AND THEIR TEAMS
BY : ANDY BUYTING
O
Over a 12-week period this past spring , our entire leadership team at Tulip Media Group went through a program offered by the Stagen Leadership Academy called the Foundational Leadership Program . In this article , I want to share with you some of the highlights that I personally took away from this course . The program was broken down into six key tactics that we would learn and then practice and revisit . It was a great program put on by Tony Lillios , an incredible coach , and in full disclosure , a partner in Tulip Media Group .
HERE ARE THE SIX MODULES THAT WE WENT THROUGH :
1 . ATTENTION MANAGEMENT
We looked at several ways that people can stay more focused in their work , like ensuring that that email notifications are turned off and ensuring that we are blocking time to do deep-focused work . Another tactic of which I ’ m a big fan — and have been doing for years — is taking an hour to plan your week very deliberately . We all have the same 168 hours in a week . How you spend those hours makes all the difference in the world . Controlling your environment and controlling your attention is the key to success for anyone .
2 . ATTENTION ZONE MODEL
The attention zone model really centers around four zones . One zone we can be in is the “ proactive ” zone , where we ’ re moving things forward and being productive . Or we can find ourselves in the “ distraction ” zone , where there are interruptions , distracting phone calls , and emails . The third zone , the “ waste zone ,” is one of inefficiencies and trivial activities . This includes social media . Finally , there ’ s the “ reactive ” zone , which is where we ’ re dealing with urgent demands or crises . The whole idea is that you want to increase the proactive zone as much as you can and avoid the other three .
3 . DISCOVERING DRAMA AND EMPOWERMENT
For this module , I reread David Emerald ’ s book , The Power of TED . It ’ s the second time I ’ ve read the book , and I got more out of it the second time than I did the first . Emerald talks about the Dreaded Drama Triangle ( DDT ) that we often find ourselves in , where we ’ re either in a situation as a victim , as a rescuer , or a persecutor . This whole idea of going from the drama triangle to The Empowerment Dynamic ( TED ) where you ’ re either the creator , the challenger , or the coach , is incredibly powerful . It is most often used to catch yourself or others slipping into the
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