Steve Roesler on Communication, Leadership and Clarity of Pupose

If you're looking for management and leadership advice from an expert who has really "been there, done that," look no further. Steve Roesler is your man. With an extensive (and very impressive) background, Steve is founder of the Roesler Group, a consulting firm that specializes in communication training and professional development with an emphasis on improving systems and relationships.

I first discovered Steve through his blog, a wonderful resource for all things workplace, aptly titled All Things Workplace. The articles I found there immediately impressed me. His work stands out as being straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. You can tell that Steve knows his stuff because he's lived it. He's not offering everyday ho-hum info. His blog is full of insightful, hands-on learning materials - articles that really teach you something new. And that's why I wanted to interview Steve: to pick his brain on management, leadership, communication, job satisfaction, and all things workplace.

Steve and I sat down for a chat last month and I'll share some bits and pieces of this discussion in the article below. However, if you'd like to join us and listen in, you can listen to the audio file here.

On Blogging

Of course, the first thing I wanted to know was about Steve's blog All Things Workplace, a veritable goldmine of information for professional development.

While on vacation in August 2006, Steve realized that he enjoyed reading other people's blogs so much, he might as well start his own.

It's fun to note that, for all his expertise and wisdom, Steve still has experiences the same everyday fears we all face: he confesses when he was ready to hit the "publish" button on his first blog post, he broke out into a cold sweat. "Usually, I only get rejected by one person at a time, now I can be rejected by the entire universe with a single click!" he laughs.

When asked about what inspires him to keep it going, he tells me that it's all about the relationships. "I am really thrilled with the relationships that have developed out of it."

He enjoys the comments especially. "The discussions usually go on and get bumped up to a new level of conversation and we all learn something from it and it can often take things in a new direction."

On blogging, he says, "It's helped me professionally and personally as well."

On Communication

Steve Roesler is a masterful communicator and he focuses a lot of time and energy to the topic on his blog. When asked about why, as humans, we have such a difficult time expressing ourselves, and why the struggle is magnified in the workplace, he tells me it's an issue of "taking the time to think before you speak."

"A lot of people (for whatever reason) tend to speak at the same time their brains are formulating a thought," he says. "And what you get is an unedited stream of consciousness."

He explains further that, "We have a desire to be heard, but we start talking before we've clarified just what our thinking is on a particular issue. When it comes to communication, what we often get is something that hasn't been clarified yet. And when you get unclarified thoughts, it bumps up the opportunity for a lot of conflict."

So how do we overcome that?

Steve suggests that there are different strategies to use when you're speaking one-on-one versus when you're speaking with a group.

When one-on-one, he notes that the real issue is that people are "worried about whether what they have to say is going to be accepted or rejected".

Ah. A feeling I am all too familiar with!

Steve recommends that you think through what it is you want to say, why you're saying it, and make sure you believe it before you start to share with others. Pause to think through whether or not it would really work and if you can build a good case for it. Be thoughtful about your communications.

He goes on to say that businesses are logical and rational, but people ultimately base their decisions on emotion - even though they try to argue rationally about it. So, in the workplace, you have to have a factual basis to tap into emotional reasons for others to accept what you have to say.

On Psychology and Business

If you spend any time on Steve's blog, you'll see that it's an interesting mix of business concepts and psychology. Why is that?

"I don't know how you separate the two!" Steve says. "Business is the process of human beings coming together to create some kind of a result. Whenever you have people involved, you've got psychology involved."

As a manager, you have figure out how to get people to do what you want them to do. It's tricky. The key is: understanding what makes you and others "tick".

Steve recommends taking time to understand yourself first. Then, you'll have a much better chance of understanding and listening to others. But you have to be honest with what you're all about.

On Leadership vs. Management

Is there any difference? Steve says it's an interesting philosophical discussion but trying to differentiate the two is not a good use of time.

The biggest tip for leadership and management is simply this: "have 100% crystal clear laserlike understanding of what your mission is, and what your purpose is for being there."

Steve calls this "Clarity of Purpose".

On Job Satisfaction

According to Steve, you must ask these questions: why are you working? What does it mean? How does your work satisfy that?

He says you must "create what success means to you personally. Don't use someone else's definition of success. Decide for yourself what your life means and how your work factors into that."

In life and work, Steve warns against the "phenomenon of the PowerPoint straight line curve - where unless our chart has an arrow that is consistently pointed upward, something must be wrong and someone must pay."

That's not the way it works!

Steve ventures to say that sometimes you move forward a little bit, then you have to stop and rethink, backtrack and regroup. Then, you may find out that your second effort gets you a little bit further.

On The Age of Conversation

Steve participated in a group writing project, along with 99 other bloggers, to create a book entitled "The Age of Conversation." It brought together bloggers who had something to say about modern information sharing.

He calls it an example of "the usefulness of the internet to bring people together who have never seen each other, never met, and make a contribution to the good of society."

All proceeds from sale of the book go to Variety the Children's Charity. It is available in ebook, hardback and paperback. The second version is out in a couple of months.

On His Current Projects

At the end of last year, Steve began a new project when he was approached by a CEO to develop a team of Executive Assistants. These professionals had been working together for 15 years but had never been brought together as a group to talk about their concerns, their work, and share information!

Steve warns business owners and managers, "If you're not paying attention to Executive Assistants as a group, you're losing the opportunity to create some more efficiencies in your business."

Since starting the program, he's hosted training, global webinars, and initiated process improvement projects for the EA workflow.

And here's the unbelievably present surprise: it has a big impact! Just by getting them together, acknowledging their connection and their professionalism, and setting a time aside for them created a bump in their performance. Of course, Steve recognizes that the company leaders have to be willing to follow through, and he says that if you do, you'll see long term improvements in performance and ways of doing business.

Steve's excitement for this work is contagious! He hopes to do more work in this area in the future and, by the sound of it, he has some amazing contributions to share. I have no doubt his training is needed in the field and will keep him busy for a long, long time!

On OfficeArrow

"It captivates me!"

Consider the feeling mutual, Steve!

That's exactly how we feel about Steve and his blog, All Things Workplace. Looks like we have a nice partnership here.