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Conversations with Masters:
A unique opportunity to learn with and from the most senior thought leaders in the field of Coaching and Leadership Development.
The Magic Parties
The Magic Parties provides women with the tools, training, and resources to support and inspire them to become their best selves.
"SUFFICIENCY: an idea whose time has come"
COMPLIMENTARY
tele class September 29th
7pm -8:30pm ET
"Imagine a world where there is actually enough of everything for everyone: Enough food, enough, water, enough clean air, enough money, enough time, enough love, enough resources, enough compassion, enough of what it takes to live on this planet in harmony with everyone and everything. Sounds like a tall order. A small group of us have been engaged in a conversation about a world that is derived out of this notion, a world where this is the context for our lives. It is our supposition that a world that is based on these principles would be very different world in which to live. Please join Gina LaRoche of INSPIRITAS and Jennifer Cohen of Meaningful Leadership to explore the world from this vantage point. See yourself in that world and see what you can begin to do every day to bring that world into existence for yourself and for others."
This call will be recorded and available for download 72 hours post live session.
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Buy the Book
Being Human at Work: Bringing Somatic Intelligence Into Your Professional Life
From Surviving the Thriving a chapter authored by Jennifer Cohen.
Edited by Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D.
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Dear Jen,
Welcome to the Meaningful Leadership newsletter series. |
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Assessments and Assertions
"Language is an ACTION. It produces a future and a world, which unspoken, would not have existed."
Welcome to the final segment of our series "The Language of Leaders." In recent months we have examined three of the five the distinctions that thought-leader, Fernando Flores, calls The Speech Acts. Flores believes that language is not simply a tool we use to describe a world that already exists. Rather, it is an action that creates our future. This is powerful practice.
According to Flores, human beings make five primary moves in language every day. Today we will examine the last of the five: Assessments and Assertions. (See Declarations, Requests and Promises in recent editions of " The Learning Laboratory.")
Confusion about Assessments and Assertions can cause significant personal suffering, and can cripple performance and team coordination. We hold the power to create speech actions that move our communities and teams forward. Understanding how assessments and assertions differ offers us the key to unlocking that power.
Let's begin by defining our terms:
Assertion: A statement that is either true or false.
"Gravity keeps things planted on the earth."
That statement is true. We can provide evidence to support the claim and prove its validity. If we can disprove its validity, the statement is still an assertion. It's just a false one.
Assessment: An opinion or judgment we make in theory for the sake of being able to take some future action.
"That is an effective marketing tool." At first glance this might actually look like an assertion. It is not, however! We might be able to provide evidence to support our claim, however, to declare something "effective" is actually an assessment made by an observer with a certain history and set of standards about effectiveness that do not match all other people's standards. There is no doubt you could find someone who refutes the claim and provides other supporting evidence for the assessment.
We are assessment-making machines. It is part of our hard wiring.
"I can trust her with my life."
"This is a safe trail to follow."
"That tiger cannot reach my tent."
We are mammals capable of making assessments that will ensure our very survival. That said, we are constantly churning out assessments about ourselves and others that hinder our prosperity. Often, we often do not take time to distinguish the types of assessments in which we are trafficking. So, we mistake them for assertions that then inform our actions. You can see quite quickly the ease with which we can take definitive action without clearly understanding its origins.
Assessments in Action:
Can you think of the assessments you have made about your boss, your colleagues, your team, that are currently informing your actions? Do you hold them like assertions? Do you have grounding, or "evidence," to support your assessments?
Assessments and Powerful Leading:
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Leaders are paid to make powerful, grounded assessments -- about the future, about their organizations, about other leaders. The more powerful and grounded a leader's assessments, the more value she offers.
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The mark of a leader lies in one's ability to discern which assessments are useful and which are garbage. Assessments are always made by an observer, and knowing who you are as an observer makes you more powerful. Knowing that assessments are born of thought and feeling is critical.
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Are you an effective leader?
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Where are you making powerful, grounded assessments?
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Where are you listening to assessments you ought to decline?
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Where are you not paying attention to someone's assessments that you ought to hear?
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What assessments are you withholding that would serve? And of whom?
What assessments are you harboring, about whom, that do not serve?
The Speech Acts: the Declaration, the Request, the Promise, the Assertion and the Assessment are at the crux of our communication with one another. They are the primary currency of all organizations, all teams, all families, all countries. Aware or not, we use The Speech Acts to form conversations, and these conversations lead to actions that would not have been possible prior to speaking about them. It is well worth the time and attention to learn how to Master the Art of the Conversation.
"The thought manifests as the word.
The word manifests as the deed.
The deed develops into habit.
And the habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its way with care;
And let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings. As the shadow follows the body,
As we think, so we become."
----The Buddha
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As always we look forward to your thoughts, reflections, and questions.
With warmest regards,
Jen
Jennifer Cohen, MA, MCSC
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