Professional Conversations, Part 3

Lift Your Lead in 200 words*

Conversations at Work
Richard Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.

There are several types of conversations that take place at work.  Each one is important for the life of the team:

1-Polite conversations:  It is important to greet one another in the morning, check-in, and speak to one another with mutual respect.  It is a matter of being polite.

2-Personal conversations:  Work relationships are more than work related.  It is healthy for people who work together to discuss personal concerns that create a bond of loyalty.

3-Technical conversations:  This type of conversation involve work.

• Exchanging information.
• Discussing goals, resources, and instructions.
• Reviewing job expectations.
• Surfacing problems and providing solutions.
• Correcting errors and clarifying processes.

The technical conversation is common and often top-down where the person with authority does most of the talking.

4-Professional Conversations: Professional conversations are head-to-head and heart-to-heart dialogue among professionals:

• Determine strategy together.
• Discusses the application of values.
• Solve problems together.
• Work out an action plan together.
• Reach mutual decisions.
• Provide empowering accountability.
• Work through and resolve conflict.

The professional conversation has three goals:

1) To develop each other’s competence,

2) To increase mutual confidence,

3) To improve the ability to work together.

Professional conversations are essential for professional teams.

*Most people read about 200 words per minute; this article is 202 words.

About the Author: Dr. Parrott

Dr. Richard Leslie Parrott is a Professor of Education at Trevecca Nazarene University. He teaches classes at the Masters and Doctoral level in Leadership and Research. At Trevecca he is also the Director of C.L.E.A.R. – The Center of Leadership Effectiveness and Renewal.