I just read some of the best advice I’ve seen recently about how to communicate – from a place I would NEVER have expected.. the chair of the CA State Water Resources Control Board!
Felicia Marcus happens to be a Harvard classmate of mine, though I never met her there. She and the Board have the incredibly difficult job of creating new water plans for our drought-stricken state with stake holders whose interests often seem to be diametrically opposed.
Herding cats. On steroids. Lions and tigers and…
Yet, they’ve managed to get some great stuff done. Her attitude towards communication has A LOT to do with it.
Here are some great quotes from a Maven’s Notebook article about her (emphasis added):
“The key is figuring out how to find a bridge to common understanding, not how to have the last word.”
“We need a new framework for the conversation. Coming in and being smarter than the other guy is not going to get us there.”
“It’s going to take folks figuring out how to take a breath and really stop and listen to each other with compassion...because what you see is people talking past each other, louder and slower, rather than asking a question or trying to figure out why does that person see it that way, as there must be a reason why seeing it that way makes some sense.”
“It’s also not being this guy… [Pic at right.] …even though there’s a lot to be angry about. So what’s it going to take? You’ve heard me talk about egosystem management as the real challenge rather than ecosystem management.”
“In practice, it’s not about theory, it’s about getting things done, and how do we get there. It’s not by being an angry duck, it’s by figuring out how to reach across divides and help people be an ally with you.”
“I can tell stories about people at every table here who have risen above the fray to figure out how to take a risk and work across a divide. Those are the stories to be celebrated and elevated, they are the victories when people reached across traditional divides because they could connect with people they never thought they could.
This is the leadership facilitating others feeling proud of coming together to make a difference in the world, focused on results and their humanity, rather than sound bites, another dollar, or winning at the expense of others, and that’s the leadership this world is going to need to survive what’s coming.”
Now, imagine if we applied this to politics?
Blessings –
P.S. REMINDER: My new Healing Your Soul’s Voice Meditation is here!
If you haven’t gotten it yet, Click here to get instant access.
P.P.S. Go HR ’77 – we are out to change the world!
The Healing Your Soul’s Voice Meditation is designed to align your energy systems and all the aspects of yourself (both human and divine), to clear and strengthen your energy centers (chakras) and your energy fields, increase the expression in your voice, and make it richer and fuller, and to open (or open further) your connection with your higher guidance, and your ability to speak your soul’s purpose.
I REALLY want to hear about your experience with it. Please let me know what you think and what happens for you from listening to it. I welcome your constructive feedback.