Virtual Global Communications

Despite many cultural differences, global leaders must be able to communicate with employees, customers and the world through a new lens, social media.

Social media allows for creative ways to send messages out to the world; whether a tweet signifying a  success of a recent product launch or a Snapchat encouraging our youth to get involved at a college; social media is very effective in getting messages across.

In my own role as Chief Communications Officer, I am finding that if I refer to tweets or Instagram postings in a positive way, my staff feels motivated to do more.   Social media managers are very creative and take pride in their work.  Recognition of employee success and hard work is something that we Americans use to motivate our employees.  We have to be careful, however, as a global leader, Russian employees are expected to do a good job and do not expect nor receive recognition for it. That is their culture.

In addition to Twitter and Snapchat, YouTube is a great recruiting tool for potential students.  Take a look:

This is more impactful than an email sent directly to the student telling them how wonderful Molloy College is.  This video would motivate me to apply to Molloy College.

Body Language

What does body language say about you?  A lot!  According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, body language is "the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others.

I have two examples of body language that I would like to share:

1.  Recently, while in a search committee meeting that I was chairing for the hiring of a new position in my office, I sat across the table from the director of Human Resources.  While I pride myself in running efficient and all-inclusive meetings, the director of Human Resources spent the entire meeting looking at me with this look of disdain.  It was rude and interrupted my flow but I forged ahead and completed the tasks that were on the agenda.  However, she distracted me during the meeting and I have now learned that I will not sit across the table from her in meetings.

2.  A second example I would like to share is that I host team meetings every week with our digital communications team.  One of the individuals is from India and I try to appreciate his culture but his lack of appreciating our culture comes out sometimes.  When he speaks to make a point, he bombards the conversation for too long.  I try to gently open up opportunities for others to speak but he is a master of the "pause" and only takes a slight breath between sentences.  However, I have learned to find a way to open up the doors of conversation by timing his pauses since my body language is not read properly by him.  It is my intent through body language that I want him to slow down and listen to what others have to say.  This may be a skill that he needs to master.

Here are some articles on body language for you to read:

Body Language Mistakes

References:

Body Language Image

Body Language Definition

10 Commandments: Communicating with Persons with Disabilities

I have the pleasure of working in an academic environment that fully supports the interaction of communicating with  people with disabilities.  The groups of people range from being:

• my niece (cerebral palsy)
• elderly 
• physically challenged
• autistic 
• sight challenged

These individuals are either:

• students
• faculty
• fellow employees
• high school students from a local "Abilities" chapter who work in the mail room

By being exposed to these types of disabilities or challenges as I like to call them, I find I am fortunate in my experiences with everyone of them I come in contact with.  I appreciate the 10 commandments, some of which I had already known and others I will consider while communicating with others who have disabilities.  

The first of the 10 Commandments for Communicating with Persons with Disabilities are outlined in the following humorous video:

As outlined in Canas and Sondak (2013), the full list of commandments is as follows:

1. When talking with a person with a disability, speak directly to that person rather than through a companion or sign-language interpreter who may be present. I will now practice this.
2. When introduced to a person with a disability, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands.  People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands. (Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable greeting).  I currently practice this. 
3. When meeting a person with a visual impairment, always identify yourself and others who may be with you.  When conversing in a group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking.  I will now practice this. 
4. If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted.  Then listen to or ask instructions.  I currently practice this. 
5. Treat adults as adults.  Address people who have disabilities by their first names only when extending that same familiarity to all others present. (Never patronize people who use a wheelchair by patting them on the head or shoulders.  I currently practice this. 
6. Leaning or hanging on a person's wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on a person and is generally considered annoying.  The chair is part of the personal body space of the person who uses this.  I don't always practice this but will try to remember to do this.
7. Listen attentively when you are talking with a person who has difficulty speaking.  Be patient and wait for the person to finish, rather than correcting or speaking for that person.  If necessary, ask short questions that require short answers, a nod, or a shake of the head.  Never pretend to understand if you are having difficulty doing so.  Instead, repeat what you have understood and allow the person to respond.  The response will clue you in and guide your understanding.  I don't always practice this but will try and remember to do this. 
8. When speaking with a person in a wheelchair or a person who uses crutches, place yourself at eye level in front of the person to facilitate the conversation.  I currently practice this. 
9. To get the attention of a person who is hearing impaired, tap the person on the shoulder or wave your hand.  Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly, and expressively to establish if the person can read your lips.  Not all people with a hearing impairment can lip-read.  For those who do lip-read, be sensitive to their needs by placing yourself facing the light source and keeping such objects as hands, cigarettes, and food away from your mouth when speaking.  I will now practice this. 
10. Relax.  Don't be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted, common expressions that seem to relate to the person's disability, such as "see you later" or "did you hear about this?" I will now practice this. 

References

Canas, K. and Sondak, H. (2013).  Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity:  Theory, cases and exercises, (3rd edition), pp. 292-293.

What Diversity Means to Me

The Concept of Diversity for me is to respect each other's differences but also to embrace our commonalities.  I believe I am more similar to others in some respects and different in other respects.  For example, I love hip hop but that is not a genre that I was familiar with as a child nor was it a part of my culture.

Race, gender, age and nationality are the most common dimensions of diversity that are pretty obvious to most of us.  However, the hidden diversities of each of us need to be drawn out at times so we can learn more about those we come in contact with.  All of these dimensions are important to me because I am a curious person who loves to learn about others, their backgrounds and what makes them shine.  As a team leader, I always ask the group to identify ourselves but also find a way to bring out the special strengths of each individual; those things that are not inherently obvious.  

We had our company BBQ yesterday, and we not only celebrated our diversity by gathering as one unit, we also embraced each other's differences by our interactions.  We played a trivia game with 300 people; all of whom participated as separate tables who acted as teams.  These teams were formed by those who were familiar with each other, whether by department or common interests but the friendships formed among the teams and the entire group are memories to be shared forever.  We also watched several talented acts perform to our delight, and we celebrated our diversity in that light as well.  I am very fortunate to work in an environment that supports inclusion of our diverse ages, races, thoughts, etc.

Here are a couple of clips from the "WINNING" performance at yesterday's "Back to the 80's" BBQ:

Yes, we have performances every year.  This year we had 3 wonderful and highly competitive performances.  We had to vote twice to get the winner!