#38: UpSkill — The Gap Between What We Intend to Communicate and What is Actually Communicated

Michel encourages leaders to be mindful when communicating, particularly because of the power positions you hold that sometimes your intent and your impact are not the same. Intent is how you think or feel and impact is how your words, decisions, actions, make others feel.We are not communicating to blank slates and the processor that the other person uses is shaded by their own experiences, by mistakes that others have made, by bad experiences, by their lived experiences, childhood trauma and so on.These all affect how your message is processed. Be mindful of that.  Our intent is transparent to us so we assume it's equally clear to others and that our message is received in the same spirit.When we cut off someone,  we expect them to be gracious to us because it's an honest mistake. When someone else cuts us off, it's not an honest mistake. We call them names and we make all kinds of assumptions about why they cut us off. This is the called the fundamental attribution error. It's a process where we judge ourselves by our intentions and we judge others by their actions.As leaders we need to be mindful when communicating that we hold a little bit more power.  Our intentions may be good, but the impact can be devastating because of the power differential. At UpSkill, we are building a community of UpSkillers, learning and growing together.Please listen, subscribe and share!With decades of combined leadership experience, team of coaches, facilitators and subject matter experts can help to UpSkill your organization. We offer corporate training, coaching, e-learning courses and consulting services for:Inclusive LeadershipDiversity, Equity & InclusionCommunicationSoft Skills Senior Leadership TrainingEmail us: [email protected] Learn more: www.upskillcommunity.com