Exceeds Expectations

I went to an ASTD luncheon a few weeks ago, and the Director of Training & Development for Cox Communications here in San Diego was the keynote speaker.

Somewhere in her speech, and in between my bland broiled chicken and not-so-good cheesecake, she talked about what kind of person would make a leader in Cox, versus what kind of person would not.

In terms of Communicating Effectively, she indicated that a successful leader in Cox would meet the following criteria:

- Articulately clarifies purpose and follows a logical sequence when explaining complex issues
- Communicates vision and goals
- Shares ideas, opinions, and concerns openly with team members and actively seeks input
- Adjusts communication style to audience, uses terms and examples relevant to the audience

A person that would not be a successful leader in Cox would meet the following criteria:

- Consistently has difficulty clarifying purpose and following logical sequence when explaining ideas
- Fails to communicate vision and goals
- Does not share ideas, opinions and concerns openly with team members or listen to input
- Consistently has difficulty adjusting communication style to audience

Now let me put this in perspective for you.

A person that is not victimized by a bully will meet the following criteria:

- Articulately clarifies purpose and follows a logical sequence when explaining complex issues
- Communicates vision and goals
- Shares ideas, opinions, and concerns openly with team members and actively seeks input
- Adjusts communication style to audience, uses terms and examples relevant to the audience

A person that is victimized by a bully will meet the following criteria:

- Consistently has difficulty clarifying purpose and following logical sequence when explaining ideas
- Fails to communicate vision and goals
- Does not share ideas, opinions and concerns openly with team members or listen to input
- Consistently has difficulty adjusting communication style to audience


Now by no means is this the end all, be all, of all the bully talk. But, for the most part, people who communicate with fervor and vision, and pay attention to what's going on around them, are less likely to feel bullied than someone who doesn't speak up and ignores differences in their audience, thereby not adjusting for it accordingly.