“Listen to the whispers and you won’t have to hear the screams.”

 

Cherokee proverb

 

One of the reasons I enjoy the dogs in my life is because of how engaged and interested they are when we are together. Spunky seems intrigued with our chats as he sits on the floor with his outstretched paws reaching towards me. Harley’s wagging tail and occasional ‘woofs’ tell me that what I’m saying matters.

 

I think we humans appreciate animals because they naturally employ some of the five key elements of active listening. These elements help you ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they are saying.

It’s 2014 budgeting season for my clients, and likely for you, too. I’m hopeful that 2014 holds the promise of bold goals for you, your company, and your customers. New goals can bring change, and change can bring … well … headaches.

 

The silver lining? You have the power to decide the size of those headaches. Deter them by properly planning and budgeting the resources – people, time and money – for change.

Prosci, a research firm focused on change management best practices, notes: “Change management drives project results by increasing employee adoption and usage of change. Change management is not done by a single person or a team; instead, it is a concerted effort that requires involvement… throughout the organization. Each… role uniquely contributes to employee adoption and usage.”

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

- Michael Jordan, (American NBA basketball player, widely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game, 1963 – )

 

No one likes to fail. Failure may be one of the most uncomfortable feelings we will all experience in our personal and professional lives. In the spirit of learning, let’s consider the value we may find in our failures. For instance, failure...

“Human beings, like plants, grow in the soil of acceptance, not in the atmosphere of rejection.”  - John Wesley Powell (1834 – 1902), U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West. Powell is famous for the 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers that included the first known passage through the Grand Canyon.

 

Social rejection is hard in any setting, especially during organizational change (or starting a new school year!). When people feel isolated, they may either physically leave or mentally check out. When someone shares his feedback and it’s immediately discounted, his defenses go up.