This month we've got two interesting questions to consider adding to your toolkit.
Dr. Susan David is a psychologist and instructor at Harvard Medical School, and the author of Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life.
She sends out a newsletter I quite like, and last week's was particularly insightful.
Dr. David shared two questions for you to ask yourself before you launch into conversations:
1. What do you have to learn from the person you're talking to? Shifting from certainty to curiosity creates openness and space in conversations and exchanges. And who knows - you might just be surprised! This question applies even (or perhaps even particularly) to your obstinate, uncommunicative teenager, or your most challenging employee or work colleague.
2. How can you help this person? Warmth is what happens when you come at people through this perspective. We humans are wired to help.
Sweetie and I went out to see A Man Called Otto at the theater over the weekend - even grumpy Otto couldn't help himself when it came to helping others. In fact, in Otto's case this ancient wiring we all have (humans are tribal animals, after all) may have even saved his life. And, by the way, if you haven't already had the pleasure, I highly recommend seeing the film. Tom Hanks was reliably wonderful, and actress Mariana Treviño who played his neighbor Marisol was a delight.
Bottom line: these two simple questions are great for shifting our perspective, and with practice can lead to all kinds of great outcomes. Kind of awesome, really.
We coaches are big question fans. If you'd like more questions to experiment with, hit reply and I'll happily send you our top 50 list of questions. A great resource for you - and we'd love for you to share with your colleagues if you find it useful.
On the Shelf:
It just so happens we're recommending Susan David's book on emotional agility this month! She explores how to shift from emotional rigidity to emotional agility, and what we can gain as a result - a life well lived. As she shares, "Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."
Let's be clear here - this thing Dr. David calls emotional agility is not a science, this is an art and a practice. We are each a work in progress. We all have people and situations in our lives that can throw us for loops from time to time.
Lots of good practical tips here to take with you into your workplace, home life and community. Enjoy!
Many thanks,
Darcy & the team at The Management Coach
ps if you've got a book or a resource you love, we'd love to hear from you! Let us know here at [email protected].
Dr. Susan David is a psychologist and instructor at Harvard Medical School, and the author of Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life.
She sends out a newsletter I quite like, and last week's was particularly insightful.
Dr. David shared two questions for you to ask yourself before you launch into conversations:
1. What do you have to learn from the person you're talking to? Shifting from certainty to curiosity creates openness and space in conversations and exchanges. And who knows - you might just be surprised! This question applies even (or perhaps even particularly) to your obstinate, uncommunicative teenager, or your most challenging employee or work colleague.
2. How can you help this person? Warmth is what happens when you come at people through this perspective. We humans are wired to help.
Sweetie and I went out to see A Man Called Otto at the theater over the weekend - even grumpy Otto couldn't help himself when it came to helping others. In fact, in Otto's case this ancient wiring we all have (humans are tribal animals, after all) may have even saved his life. And, by the way, if you haven't already had the pleasure, I highly recommend seeing the film. Tom Hanks was reliably wonderful, and actress Mariana Treviño who played his neighbor Marisol was a delight.
Bottom line: these two simple questions are great for shifting our perspective, and with practice can lead to all kinds of great outcomes. Kind of awesome, really.
We coaches are big question fans. If you'd like more questions to experiment with, hit reply and I'll happily send you our top 50 list of questions. A great resource for you - and we'd love for you to share with your colleagues if you find it useful.
On the Shelf:
It just so happens we're recommending Susan David's book on emotional agility this month! She explores how to shift from emotional rigidity to emotional agility, and what we can gain as a result - a life well lived. As she shares, "Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."
Let's be clear here - this thing Dr. David calls emotional agility is not a science, this is an art and a practice. We are each a work in progress. We all have people and situations in our lives that can throw us for loops from time to time.
Lots of good practical tips here to take with you into your workplace, home life and community. Enjoy!
Many thanks,
Darcy & the team at The Management Coach
ps if you've got a book or a resource you love, we'd love to hear from you! Let us know here at [email protected].