Conversations can be openings for our life to unfold in interesting and surprising ways, but first we must create the conditions for them to occur.
Frankly, ten years ago I wouldn’t have fully appreciated what it means to have these bigger conversations.
What does that really mean?
How do we know it when it happens?
In my case, I caught my first glimpse of something intriguing when I started interviewing experts and asking them “What is your best improvement strategy?”
The answers were surprising, deep, and unexpected. Not only for me but oftentimes for the person I was speaking with and others as well. In an Amazon review of my book 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success, one reader wrote:
I feel every one of the interviews provides valuable insight with many takeaways for the future. I wouldn’t doubt folks who read this literary piece will frequently be returning to review what they had read here in the past.
-Mario Hyland, VP AEGIS.net
I recently had the opportunity to have a big conversation with Sarah Rozenthuler about the Forward-Thinking Workplace. Sarah is an expert on having big conversations and wrote a book about it. She is the author of Life Changing Conversations and is a psychologist, leadership coach, and the founder of Bridgework Consulting Ltd. In her book, she talks about the seven strategies that are needed to help people talk about what matters most and shares some of those ideas here.
There were three big ideas that stood out for me in this compelling interview that can lead us to having bigger conversations:
- People will only find their voice and share their thinking if they feel safe.
- Making a workplace more innovative and more fulfilling for human beings is to help people drop their mask and show up more authentically.
- Part of the journey is learning to manage difficult emotions in oneself and in other people.
So why is it important to have these bigger conversations?
Sarah says, “By enhancing our ability to talk together we can create the lives that we desire, for ourselves and for those whose lives we touch. If one of us finds the courage to talk, then another does, then another, this domino effect could even change the world.”
Sarah shares many more fascinating insights in the full interview below.
Welcome to this forum Sarah and thank you for contributing your valuable insights to the Exploring Forward-Thinking Workplace conversation.