Using Collaborative Communication for Teamwork and Transparency

Shari Elle Communication GroupNicholas Ho ING Direct Australia

“The Hook”

CC Enables Human Connection

Collaborative Communication is Most Useful When

• There’s conflict

• Opinions are Diverse

• Need for Calmness

• Understanding of underlying drivers

• Feedback

What makes your work worthwhile?

Difficult Situations- Uncovering Needs• “That team is clueless. They don’t know what

they’re doing.”• “I didn’t learn anything. That training was

hopeless”

Difficult Situations- Uncovering Needs• “That team is clueless. They don’t know what

they’re doing.”• “I didn’t learn anything. That training was

hopeless”• “How did they ever think that they could release

this?”…. NIC – can we make this more specific example

Thoughts / Judgments

Observations

Feelings

Needs Connection

How we use Collaborative Communication

• Gain inner clarity ~ emotional• Directly communicating with others

O – ObservationF – FeelingN – Need / ValueR – Request

Four Part CC Process

“This report isn’t right. You guys say you care about contributing to the wellbeing of children but really all you care about is the bottom line.”

How the 4 pieces work together

Observation - When I see the vision of our organisation is“to enhance the physical and emotional wellbeing of the children we work with”, and then I see no mention of how children’s lives will beenhanced in this report

Feeling - I’m nervousNeed - I’m wanting alignment with our vision AND

trust that this vision is actually what we all want.Request - Would you be willing to redo the report and

include how taking this action will contribute to children’s welfare?

How 4 pieces work together

Observation

• Factual and non-judgemental• No interpretations• No emotion

Observation

When I see the vision of our organisation is “to enhance the physical and emotional wellbeing of the children we work with”, and then I see no mention of how children’s lives will be enhanced in this report

How 4 pieces work together

Feelings

• Physical sensations• Not thoughts

Feeling I’m nervous

How the 4 pieces work together

Needs

• Core drivers• Share the same needs• Not strategies (not how)

Need I’m wanting alignment with our vision and trust that this vision is actually what we all want.

How the 4 pieces work together

Request

• Offer or request ways to meet need• Unlocks new possibilities• Requests, not demands• Most effective when specific

RequestWould you be willing to redo the report and include how taking this action will contribute to children’s welfare?

How the 4 pieces work together

Scenario 1

O – “When you see the report not reflecting your actual performance”

F – “I’m sensing you’re feeling upset, and frustrated“

N - “because you want to show to yourself how well your team is performing”

R – “Can I change the report so it better reflects your team’s velocity”

O – “I noticed that you’ve been working quite hard in our team”

F – “I am feeling concerned and worried“

N - “Because the team needs to know what we’re all working on and the work needs to be visible”

R – “Can I offer to help make your work visible to the team?”

Experience at Merck Pharmaceuticals• 100% of participants report increases in their

and others’ efficiency.• 100% of participants able to resolve issues that

would previously have been unresolvable.• A reduction in the number of meetings by 50-

80%. • Meeting times cut in half• Helped with cross-cultural differences

https://workcollaboratively.com/resources/report-cc-2012/

Next Steps• Read the book Nonviolent Communication

~ A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg• YouTube Playlist• Attend a workshop on Collaborative Communication• Schedule a conversation to explore CC and how you

may want to apply these skills for you or in your team.

Closing

QUES

Questions