My communication / leadership development goals

I have three main goals related to developing my communication and leadership skills during my time at the GSB. 

1. I want to provide more context when communicating, especially when communicating in ad hoc situations that are typical in the workplace. I have a difficult time taking a step back from my work to think about the background information that others have, and often dive straight into the meat of my point or question. I would also like to speak with more structure and clarity when communicating, though I think those are inter-related with providing context. 

2. I would like to improve my ability to make people feel understood and heard when working together in a team, even if I disagree with them. If I end up making a decision that contradicts their opinions, I’d like to be able to better communicate my rationale for making that decision. This skill is especially relevant when working in cross-functional groups where the team I’m working with has very different priorities and perspectives. In my role as a product manager prior to business school, I sometimes found myself frustrated in situations where I wasn’t able to address a lower priority user need due to resource constraints and found it difficult to get buy-in from the users for this internal tool on these decisions.  

3. By the end of my GSB experience, I’d like to develop a better sense of my leadership style and what works for me. I’m excited to hear feedback from my peers and spend time reflecting on the type of leader I’d like to be.