Maybe You've Heard This Before, But It Is Worth Repeating

As a manager, as a parent or as a leader, it is easy to feel like we have to repeat ourselves. Having that feeling that we've talked about this before and being a little disappointed that you are telling them the same thing again. It really shouldn't surprise us though, how many times do we ourselves have to hear something before it sinks in?

If you are working on changing a culture or building a skill in your team expect to repeat yourself. Different people learn differently so some might get it during the team meeting you share with the group, some might get it during a one-on-one conversation and some might need to read the handout for themselves. Individuals have other things going on in their life too, struggles with a sick child, an ailing parent or some other dynamic that takes focus off of their work. Maybe everything doesn't click for them until the outside distractions subside and they hear it from you again two months from now.

It is interesting how we talk about building a skill like playing the piano or shooting a basketball and we expect to have to repeat ourselves. The first time you play the right notes or make the shot we don't stop, we keep repeating, thousands of times until we get it down, then we repeat some more. Communicating, parenting, managing and sharing ideas are also skills that we need to practice and not be afraid of repeating.


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