Communicating Through Your Lens

Have you ever had a friend completely not see eye-to-eye on something?  

Ever work for a boss whose short-tempered demeanor made you feel like an inconvenience? 

Or work with a pushy colleague that seems too busy to listen but constantly trying to get their point across to you?

Are they intentionally trying to upset you or make you feel unworthy?

The simple answer is no. 

At Gallup and reCreate we like to use the analogy of a lens.  Everyone has their very own lens in which they see the world through. This lens is the way we think about situations, the way we interpret our feelings, and the way in which we behave.  Collectively, our top 5 strengths create a lens in which we operate from. This is why we communicate the way we do, why we make the decisions we make, why we have expectations about how things should go.

When looking at any relationship we have (work, home, family, friends), wouldn’t you say that communication is one of the most important,  if not the most important dimension? If that is the case, shouldn't we work on how we communicate with one another? Shouldn't we work on understanding more of ourselves so we can in turn understand others?

reCreate believes that communication is vital to a prosperous relationship and in order to get there you must first understand the lens you operate from. 

Here are three ways to get a jump-start on communicating more effectively:

1. Know your Strengths
Communication starts with you.  Go through each of your top 5 and ask yourself:

•  How do I think with this theme?
•  How do I act with this theme?
• How do I feel with this theme?
• How am I communicating with this theme?
  

Working through each of your strengths and understanding how they affect your lens can greatly open up your communication style.            

2.  Discover others Strengths
Know the strengths of those you are in a relationship with whether it be a friend, partner, or colleague.  Once you can understand your own lens, then you must explore the strengths of those you are communicating with. Understanding how they think, act and feel can lead to some real ah-ha moments in the ways in which they communicate with you and the lens in which they operate from.

3.  Start talking!
Depending on the relationship and the way the other has made you feel in the past, opening up the lines of communication may be difficult. Taking the time to understand how a person's lens affects they way they think, feel and behave is essential in creating authentic communication and the key to better relationships.

For the love of Strengths,
Team reCreate


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