What I'm Reading: People Skills

"Most of us have been trained to be poor listeners. Yet ironically, we spend more time listening than doing anything else, and the quality of our listening greatly affects both the personal and the vocational dimensions of our lives."

- Richard Bolton, People Skills

In People Skills, Richard Bolton discusses common barriers to effective communication and how to improve your Assertion skills. Bolton describes listening and assertion as “yin and yang of communication.” Assertion responses differ from aggressive, passive, and passive-aggressive responses by focusing on collaborative problem solving to find solutions to life-space violations.

Bolton describes the need to develop your Reflective Listening skills to become a better manager. Being able to craft an assertion message devoid of judgment and other communication spoilers is a key characteristic of effective leaders.