The lifeblood of an organisation is communication. Effective communication is underpinned by relationships. Your ability to Relate is about adapting and connecting with others so you can build relationships that support productive conversations.
What often gets missed is the importance of confidence. No amount of knowing what to do and how to do it will make any difference if you don't have the confidence to lean into it. That's why your relationship to yourself is your most important relationship.
Confidence in communicating is partly about knowing what to say and how to say it. It is a lot more about self-awareness. Developing confidence starts with self-awareness. Understanding who you are at a deeper level, and why you think, say and do what you do, means you can make better choices about how you turn up for others. This is where you get to work on getting out of your own way.
Increasing self-awareness at the character level is really an exploration of your ego. I refer to ego here simply as the behaviours you have developed that serve to defend you. The reward of increasing your ego awareness means being able to choose how you respond rather than automatically react. That’s crucial in leadership. It's about recognising your patterns of behaviour and getting clear on behaviours that are helping and hindering.
When you are comfortable and in alignment with who you are, you communicate from your congruent, authentic self. It’s a powerful energy that becomes a lighthouse for others. From this place leaning in becomes easier.
When you make a positive shift in your inner world, your outer world shifts too. The bonus is that things will improve across all your relationships. At work and at home. When you relate better to yourself, you can relate better to others.
If you are going to have the sorts of conversations that move value through your organisation, you are going to need strong relationships. Building strong relationships is about adapting and connecting to others.
That is probably not new information, but how often do we forget or find ourselves thinking the world would just work better if everyone operated like me!
Gaining more insight about yourself and others with personality instruments can help. People are unique, and in truth personality profilers never tell you everything (or even close) about a person. People aren’t types or numbers or colours, however psychometrics do offer a framework for how you might approach, communicate and work with others.
I’ve been a student of human behaviour for over 20 years. My preferred map of personality is The 5 Character Structures (5CS). That's because 5CS goes deeper into the layers of the human onion and offers psychological insight to yourself and others. My continuing experience is that today’s leaders need a deeper level of psychological awareness to navigate an increasingly sophisticated workforce. It has been a game changer for me and many of my clients.
On the one hand, 5CS is about how we defend ourselves at the ego level of our personality. On the other hand, it is about how that same armouring created a unique you, complete with super-strengths and gifts.
Sometimes we assume the things we do are just the way we are. Learning The 5 Character Structures reveals the unseen prison of your personality. It helps you to liberate your gifts, overcome limiting behaviours, and move on from places you are stuck.
Matt helps leaders and teams develop their mindset and resourcefulness so they can relate productively, communicate effectively, and navigate challenge, change and complexity with confidence.
Through coaching and training, he empowers leaders with better choices and more options for progress - building better leadership from the inside out.
Curious what that could look like for you or your organisation? Let’s talk.