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A Strategy for Effective Communication and Team Development

Do unto others as they would be done unto, not as you would have them do unto you


There are two qualities almost every organization I have worked in have in common when I first arrive. Ineffective communications and an abundance of negative behaviors.  Meetings dissolve into battlegrounds, department heads and their teams define fiefdoms, political behaviors abound, and ineffective and misunderstood communications suck energy, and sacrifice efficiency for leverage.

A large component of this behavior is founded on one factor.  Misunderstanding.

According to a 2014 Inc. Magazine article, “office workers spend more than two and a half hours per week trying to resolve conflict, which translates into $359 billion in losses for U.S. companies every year....”

People generally want to work in an environment where they feel they can be effective, and enjoy working with their colleagues.  Frequently, however, this is not the case.   A person starts out treating colleagues as they believe they themselves would like to be treated, only to find that such well-intentioned behavior backfires.  Their colleague does not understand them, gets frustrated by them, or accuses them of unfounded behaviors or intentions. And the reason? People are different.  Individuals want be recognized and treated according to their own particular preferences and values, not according to yours! A case of “do unto others as they would be done unto” not “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

As an organizational development consultant with over 20 years’ experience, there is one tool that I have returned to, client after client, which always proves its value - the Life Orientations or LIFO® Survey and Training Method.

LIFO® is a great tool for giving individuals insight and strategies for how to be more effective communicators and team players, starting with an understanding of their own strengths and challenges.

It helps individuals to become aware of their most and least preferred styles of interacting with others, and their work.  Armed with this understanding, they learn how to how to hone and leverage their personal styles to become more effective in their interactions with their clients and colleagues, by knowing when to use or modify their behavioral styles. They also learn as a team, how to identify and work with the preferred behavioral styles of team members, and the team as a whole, thus allowing for a more efficient approach to interactions and work.

The process begins with individuals taking a LIFO® Personal Assessment Survey to assess their behavioral strengths in terms of their preferred and least preferred orientations to life and work, under favorable and unfavorable conditions.

LIFO® Personal Assessment Survey Outcomes
• Identify four easily understood and distinct orientations, the combination of which generate different behavior patterns
• Explain the effects of driving values (reason, harmony, excellence and desire for action) in determining behavior
• Describe changes in behavior that may occur under normal and stressful circumstances
• Highlight gaps in skills
• Clarify potential stressors
• Isolate ineffective behavioral strategies when working with others

When individuals come together to learn about - and share their LIFO® profiles, it forms a common language and basis for discussing similarities and differences in behavioral drivers. The LIFO® Method provides a safe and non-judgmental strategy to improve productivity by re-building interactions through targeted exercises which foster understanding and teamwork, without risking relationships.

Multiple uses for this understanding can be extended as
• A tool for managers, to structure and request work by matching tasks and wording to an individual’s personal drivers and orientation, and to motivate and reward employees.
• For boards, management or departmental teams to leverage individual and team strengths, as well as to avoid the pitfalls which result in a dominant team profile that is used in excess.
• For Teams to plan for and make decisions in good times and when times are stressful

To date, over nine million people in 20,000 organizations have used the LIFO® Method and LIFO® Training worldwide. The LIFO® Method has been used in 24 languages in 66 countries and territories making it the ideal productivity solution for multinational organizations.

Learn More
LIFO® Survey and Method >> lifo.co/introduction-lifo/lifo-method-history
LIFO case studies and success stories >> lifo.co/lifo-resources/success-stories

 This article was first published by Frederick Community College Business Solutions.  The link to this article can be found here. 
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Location: Maryland, USA

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