In Week 5, we explored a vital component of creating intended outcomes in the world: taking more personal responsibility. To unlock the power available to you when you take more personal responsibility, you committed to a period of no complaints and performed labwork that guided you through the transformative process of shifting complaints into requests. You also learned how to ensure the requests you make are powerful so that they have higher potential to bring you and others into greater alignment while driving more effectively toward the results you are seeking.
Here in Week 6, you’ll learn another set of game-changing moves to sharpen your communication and collaboration skills. We will explore an important component of your work life: working with other people. Much of the work you do simply cannot occur without the involvement of others; the way you accomplish the work you do with others is through the conversations you have with them. This Lesson centers on the theory that your ability to create success with others has a lot to do with the degree of skill you use to design and carry out those conversations.
Conversations occur in meetings, presentations, hallway exchanges, email, text, IM, social apps, and beyond. Some are informal and may happen between a few individuals only. Others include many participants, as when you lead a cross-team initiative, deliver a keynote, or present at an all-hands meeting. The concepts you learn this week can be applied across the range of conversations that are part of the professional workplace.
Week 6 Learning Objectives
At the end of this week’s Lesson, you will be able to answer the following questions:
- How do successful leaders inspire collaboration?
- What steps can I take to facilitate more productive interactions with my colleagues?
- What role does clarity play in creating success with others?
- In my role, I need to be effective at “influence without authority;” what are some tips that will help me get better at that?