We speak. We listen. We chat. Lots of people know how to talk—but few know how to really communicate. Conversation is the most powerful yet underutilized tool at a manager?s command. If managers change the way they talk to people, they can become much more than effective managers—they can become great leaders.
Leadership and the Art of Conversation by Kim Krisco is a unique book that approaches the subject of conversation step by step. First it identifies the most productive aspects of conversation—including coaching, listening, managing, organizing, and even personal chat; then it shows readers how to put them to work.
?If you observe leaders,? says Krisco, ? one fact becomes immediately evident. They spend most of their time in conversation. Everything leaders accomplish is the result of their conversations. Change the kinds of conversations you have and you immediately become a more potent and effective leader.?
In Leadership and the Art of Conversation, Krisco covers everything managers need to converse more effectively, including: • the basic tools and principles of effective conversations • sample scripts and real-life examples • making proper requests and dealing with nonresponses • generating and maintaining commitment • managing the flow of a conversation • applying the eight conversational principles
Used wisely, conversation can be a manager?s most valuable asset.
About the Author
Kim H. Krisco is the internationally recognized speaker, lecturer, and trainer who developed the transition strategy that saw GTE through the largest merger in telecommunications history. The author of Leadership Your Way, he speaks to such groups as the AMA, the FDIC, and the International Business Conference.
Kim is selling his home and coaching center, which took him and his wife Sara over 10 years to build by hand. This journey was the catalyst for Kim's latest book -- Talking to Trees. There are several things motivating his decision, As Kim puts it, "We have grown too attached to the place and it no longer makes sense ecologically, emotionally or economically. Separating from any attachment is painful, and I am sure we will experience some pain and sadness. However, holding on to it would be painful too, and it would limit us both. As we age we want our lives to expand, not get smaller. Check our place out at www.southwestmountainhome.com.
We have decided to sell our place without knowing where we will go next. This will permit more possibilities in our lives. Such a strategy goes against all my programming, so I suspect it is the right thing to do.
One idea that resonates deeply with Sara and I is the possibility of joining with a handful of like-minded people to establish a small, mostly self-sustaining, community similar to the ecovillages that are sprouting up around the world. There are many aspects to such a venture that are attractive.
First, I resonate with Thomas Jefferson's notion that the more self-sufficient a human being is, the more personally free they are . . . and feel. I wish to leave behind a sophisticated lifestyle that inherently requires a high degree of dependency on others for my basic needs. Secondly, all my creative juices begin to flow as I contemplate playing a role in creating and maintaining the social infrastructure needed for a healthy micro-community. If such a dream is to manifest, I suspect it will happen organically and naturally.
I founded Transition Technologies twenty years ago to focus on change management. This mission evolved to include leadership development, business communication and team development programs, and more recently, sabbatical and work-life balance programs for leaders and their spouses.
I still offer team and executive development programs that use coaching as a key component. Check out: www.kimkrisco.com. My approach to leadership development and coaching is based upon the belief that our personal power is a product of the quality of our interactions with others. By being aware, in the moment, of the way we speak, listen and interact, we can immediately improve their effectiveness.
My diverse career background has prepared me for the field of coaching, leadership, and team development. I taught college; managed instructional media and distance learning programs, wrote and directed TV and films; and served in corporate communications, human resources and training functions.
I love working with for-profit and nonprofit organizations. My most recent client roster includes NASA, First Franklin, 3Com, Merck, DTE Energy, Verizon, Community First Bank, and GTE. And, in the non-profit realm -- AARP, the Lakota Nation, YMCA, and the United Methodist Church.
I published Talking to Trees, Leadership & the Art of Conversation, Leadership Your Way: Play the Hand You're Dealt and Win, and Aikido Leadership.
With their own hands, Kim and his wife Sara Ferguson built a straw-bale home and coaching center in south-central Colorado. The decade long process of building this center - along with what it taught Kim about coaching -- is his new book _ Talking to Trees.
His last book,Leadership & the Art of Conversation, while extremely popular, has remained out of print because (as Kim says, his"ideas, opinions and perspectives in that book have changed significantly. Indeed, the purpose of coaching has changed or, has been elevated so as to give you a new, higher perspective." This shift in perspective and approach to coaching is captured in Talking to Trees, along with a host of new coaching models, techniques and practices.
If you're a coach wondering if there is something more . . . or your just ready for the next big step in your life . . . please read Taking to Tress.
Kim holds graduate degree in social communication and undergraduate degree in communication and psychology.
I intend to keep writing, gardening, learning new languages, learning the accordion, and of course, coaching. But I don't want to be called a writer, gardener, linguist, accordionist, or even a coach. I reject all labels save one. I am a human being.
I love connecting with like-minded people around the world. My email is trantech1@mindspring.com. My phone number is 719-859-4302.
5.0 out of 5 starsYou need not be a manager to read this gem!, November 25, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Leadership and the Art of Conversation: Conversation as a Management Tool (Paperback)
Don't let the first chapter discourage you from reading this amazing book. Although written with managers in mind anyone can benefit from its wise statements. Krisco delivers all he promises in his introduction. You will learn about listening filters, coaching others, couching your ideas so that people will listen. This book is full of insights and pithy sayings that will make you reflect upon your whole life not just your work life. You will learn to understand the "little voice" in your head and learn about listening filters. This book will make you a leader. A leader is described by Krisco as someone who consistently produces extraordiny results. I just completed reading this book and intend to revisit it many more times. I highly recommend this extraordinary work!
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5.0 out of 5 starsIt helps me understand and influence people everyday, September 30, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Leadership and the Art of Conversation: Conversation as a Management Tool (Paperback)
This book is an easy read and has step by step techniques that are easy to use. It focuses on understanding distinctions of why people say something and then tries to help put it in a catagory that you can handle with a leadership decision to motivate and coach. Many times I was able glean powerful tools off just one page. I am just finishing my first year as a successful sales manager. Thank you Kim
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5.0 out of 5 starsexcellent, engauging and very useful, February 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Leadership and the Art of Conversation: Conversation as a Management Tool (Paperback)
First of all, the book makes you aware of the "distinctions" and it is a powerful tool in managing communication. The next is the concept of shifting your emphasis from the "past" to "future" and then to "present", to enable effective actions and change in behaviour. This is a practiceable, effective tool that managers or team leaders can use and establish good control on conversational situations. The mere awareness of different possibilities itself can enhance one's competitiveness.
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