Success Story: From Negative to Successful Communication and Relationships at Work

Did you know that your feelings and past experiences can get in the way of your communication?

Next time you feel a strong emotion or feeling, pay attention to that emotion and try not to let it get in the way of your message. Both positive emotions, like happiness, and negative emotions, like anger, can influence how you interact and communicate with others.

When you have a good understanding of your own feelings, you will begin to notice these emotions and be able to not to let them get in the way of your communication.

Let me share a case study with you that illustrates this point:

A Vice President of Human Resources was struggling with his relationships with his colleagues at the same level in the organization. He often felt treated differently by his colleagues and his boss, and frequently expressed this to me and others. 

As a result of his feelings and concerns, he often got angry and yelled at his colleagues during meetings. Of course, none of this behavior endeared him to others, and in fact exacerbated the situation. 

The company hired me to help him improve his relationships with his colleagues and others in the company.

When we began our one-on-one coaching, the Vice President initially wanted to work on changing others because he felt the problem was theirs. 

He was a large overbearing man, who repeatedly told others he was treated differently every time something went wrong. Our initial work was on helping him understand he couldn’t change others and had to change himself. And to show him that by changing how he interacted with others, and changed how he viewed his colleagues, they in turn would change how they interacted with him. 

We discussed having something visual he could see during meetings that would act as a trigger to stay calm. 

He decided to hold onto his keys which held a picture of his children, which he felt grounded him.  We also touched on the fact, that his physical size could be intimidating and that because of this he needed to take a soft approach when dealing with others. 

We discussed his upbringing and I discovered that he had been raised by a single mother who worked long hours to support him and his brother. His upbringing was still having a negative influence on his thinking and behaviors. 

Through coaching, I was able to help him understand how it negatively impacted his relationships, and how to consider other ideas and ways of thinking. 

Over the time we worked together he was able to successfully shift his thinking from ‘it’s them and their problem’ to “I need to make adjustments and learn how to work with others’.  

By the time we completed our work together, he was no longer blaming what wasn’t working on others treating him differently and he had learned to accept responsibility for his part of the problem, and his part of the solution.

As a result of this shift, his communication skills improved. The managing director who hired me to work with him, shared with me that in meetings his body language changed from closed to open.

He became more engaged with his peers, and had moved from resisting and fighting to open and accessible. Instead of immediately getting into arguments or responding with nasty emails he learned to pause, step back and determine how he wanted to respond. 

In the end it was a win-win for both the Vice President and his colleagues. He was able to relax and communicate more effectively and get the results that he wanted without having to go to “battle” each time he met with his colleagues. 

His colleagues no longer dreaded interacting with him during meetings, and they were able to “hear” what he was communicating instead of going directly into defense mode.

Next time you find yourself struggling with your relationships at work, take a look at how you’re feeling before you step into that meeting. Find a way to ground yourself and pay attention to how you’re communicating with others.

Start with changing yourself my guess is that you’ll see your behavior mirrored by those around you.

Linda Finkle

Executives and top performers in leading companies rely on Executive Coach Linda Finkle to call them on their blind spots, expand their influence and create bigger things for themselves and the companies they lead. High-achieving professionals from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual, Blue Cross Blue Shield, major law firms and dozens of others have come to know Linda as their secret weapon to overcome leadership and communication challenges that stand in their way of making an even bigger impact.

Linda is described as ‘the best of both worlds in that she understands revenue pipeline management as well as running an organization day-to-day’ and ‘an invaluable resource and advisor’ by others. No matter how they describe her, clients regularly welcome the benefits that come from their work together. Most notably, clients’ gross revenues skyrocketed, communication skills have been refined creating a lasting ripple effect across the organization, allowing them to make bigger impacts at work and in their personal lives, and learn smarter ways of adding value without burning out.

Known for her great rapport and relationship-focused demeanor, she is often called direct and has a truth-telling way about her. Linda Finkle has coached and trained more than 2,000 leaders in six countries since 2001. Widely known as “The Elephant Chaser”, Linda has a reputation for going straight for the throat of whatever problems a business is having and working closely with leaders and managers to resolve them and to heighten the company’s overall performance. Whether working one-on-one with clients, as an inspiring speaker, as a leadership team facilitator, or with partnerships in distress, Linda is committed to guiding clients to clarity about their communications, behaviors and stumbling blocks that stand in the way of their effectiveness.

Before launching Incedo Group, LLC, Linda built and managed an executive recruiting firm for more than twenty years. Her recruitment agency identified talent for Fortune 500 companies and small to mid-sized business as well, and ranked among the top 10 recruiting firms in the country. Her ability to understand the corporate culture and needs of the company for both the long and short term ensured her clients returned time and again. Even today, clients and candidates from her recruiting days reach out to her for advice, help, and guidance.

Her ability to build trust immediately, her powers of perception and intuition, along with her tactful and direct style, create a space that allows clients to share their truth and receive the feedback they won’t hear from anyone else. It is exactly what they need to make changes to catapult their leadership and companies in powerful ways.