Image credit: jon argos

All this talk about knowing yourself/your MAP reminds me of something I’d like to share with you.

Twice recently people have commented on how direct I am and both times it caught me up short. Not because I’m unaware of the trait, but because I’d forgotten about it.

For the last 10 years, direct is why my clients hired and paid me.

The fact that my directness was problematical previous to my starting RampUp Solutions had totally slipped my mind, so when it came up my reaction was ‘huh’.

That’s the way it is with MAP features. There’s no way we can stay conscious of every one of them all the time and in all their guises—and that’s OK 98% of the time, but that 2% can bite when (not if) it pops up.

What to do?

Start by leveling with your people about yourself. In my case, I not only admitted to being direct, i.e., blunt—I joked about it. Along with that I approved and encouraged them to be blunt with me—full reciprocation. It wasn’t always comfortable, but it worked.

Since you know that it can happen, focus your awareness on your effect on those around you. Stay conscious of their facial expressions—or lack thereof—body language, speech patterns, even silences. When a flag goes up address it immediately.

MAP features don’t function as excuses for poor behavior. Continuing with my example, being blunt isn’t an excuse for tearing people down; it doesn’t excuse rudeness, embarrassing, humiliating, disparaging, or publicly criticizing someone.

What MAP features have you forgotten? What impact do they have?

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 2:15 am and is filed under Business info, Communication, Motivation, Personal Growth, Wordless Wednesday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Tags: directness, management
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.