Maree's Blog

Building awareness of what triggers us and makes us feel bad (maybe something someone has said), and what we may not even be aware of (blind spots) that triggers others, helps us to build empathy and compassion for others. Back in April this year I was working with a group of women and talking to them about communicating... Read more...

The meaning of my message is what you understand, not what I think I’m saying. Diving into the meaning of words allows us to uncover what is being deleted, generalised or distorted by our unique individual filters. What is going on inside our heads largely determines our reality. When we are interacting and communicating with others the likelihood that our... Read more...

Everyone holds a different picture or shape of something in their head. To communicate effectively, the trick is to work out what that shape is for someone else. It’s like an iceberg where only 1/8^th of the iceberg is above the waterline. What we see of someone is only 1/8^th of what is going on internally for them.  To find that picture or shape, means... Read more...

Our ability to see, hear, feel, smell, taste and touch enriches our experience and can turn reaching our goals from a dream to reality. Our internal representation is a way of codifying our experience.  This inner experience we have at any given moment, relates to five categories of sensory experience: the visual sense (seeing), the auditory sense... Read more...

December is a time, as the year draws to a close, to reflect on what 2018 has meant to me. January is then a time to start planning for the year ahead. I have worked with many wonderful people and organisations this year and for those of you who have come to my talks, workshops, coaching or knowledge sessions - THANK YOU for playing along. For any... Read more...

The way we talk and the words we use can either include or exclude people. I’ve been running knowledge sessions for Diversity Council Australia on the impact of ‘words at work’. It has been fascinating hearing examples from participants of what words and phrases may make individuals feel included or excluded. Words trigger us in lots of ways and make us... Read more...

Avoiding words that trigger us by implying blame and encouraging language that helps us learn from failures creates safety to participate and speak up. In her book ‘Teaming’ Amy Edmondson gives an example where a new chief operating officer (COO) of a large American hospital instituted new language to discuss safety... Read more...

In one of my last roles before starting my business I completed a value inventory as my organisation was undergoing a major cultural change program. At the time, I had been becoming increasingly unhappy and dissatisfied with my role and couldn’t understand why, as I really liked my team. The role focussed on preparing marketing and communication material... Read more...