Monday, April 2nd, 2007
The serious spat between Chris Lock andKathy Sierra seems to have left them with a better understanding of each other. You can read their joint statements here. But it has been a painful process and got to the heart of what we mean, what we say, and how we say it. Apart from the obnoxious, misogynistic posts that triggered this in the first place there was an underlying hostility and fundamental misunderstandings on both sides. From people whose living is communication and who are perfectly reasonable human beings!
What I learned from this was the need to listen as well as speak, and challenge your own assumptions on a regular basis. Trite maybe, but if leaders in organisations followed those two simple rules some of the conflict, trauma and bitterness that workplaces generate could be avoided.