Sunday Caffeine – Conversational Balance. April 25, 2021

Hey, and welcome back to Caffeine.

I’m really happy to be here, and I’m glad that you’re reading this.

We have a constant opportunity to re-adjust, re-connect, find focus…

So, I’m grateful for that opportunity for the clean sheet of my text editor every time I decide to write.

Just when you think things are feeling forced…space opens up again like a spring.

One trick for writing is to write as if you’re only writing rough drafts, and can throw the paper out at any moment!

This throws your mind off the scent, freeing you from thinking that this letter has to be “done correctly.”

Well, the trick is on you, and on my mind, as I only hold loose ideas and principles for how and what my role is when writing to you.

Writing Trick
Throw your mind off the scent, pretend that every draft is immediately expendable. Write as if you were planning to not use it, so might as well live on the edge a bit and try something risky…

And what and how I share with you show up in many forms, so there is no
one right way…

And this means that I can always improve, find shortcuts, and adapt to what is changing and emerging.

This adaptive style of leadership, that meets change and refocuses is a process and muscle to build – it’s the underlying communication of Caffeine letters.

It’s a teaching, an adaptive way of working that splits the middle between the rigid team of “Goal setting productivity” folks and the “Flower child” with no aims simply blowing in the wind.

An area for me to grow in this sharing is to provide more *specifics* particularly about my experiences.

• Who am I learning from right now that you might benefit from connecting with?
• What processes or steps am I taking for success that you might learn?
• What events, companies, or technologies are shaping my thinking, and what are my interpretations about what that means for our work?

I hope the forthcoming more personal disclosures help you grow and find answers to the questions that you’re seeking to answer.

This is about creating more of a conversational balance.


Conversational Balance
A great conversation involves both people disclosing their personal feeling and experiences while welcoming the other to do the same.

Some of us are more comfortable with asking questions, others in sharing about themselves. If there's no balance, ask yourself why you lean so heavily on one or the other?

Subtle control, defenses, fears can lurk underneath our preferred and comfortable style of speaking with other people.

Moving beyond these defenses into more of a flow and presence will take us toward the connection and joy we seek in being with others.

Moving beyond your defenses to share about yourself.

Dropping control to learn and get curious about others...


Have an awesome week, and as always, let me know how I can help,

xx David