Thanks to my former employer
SIX Financial Information (and the consulting company
Aergon), in 2018 I had the chance to get much more insides and understanding about “company culture”, “communication” and things like the tool “
The 4 Levels of Listening”.
These 4 levels help to become more aware if you are e.g. just trying to get "information out of a conversation" or you really "co-creating a shared understanding". In the beginning it sounded to me very abstract. However, I realized that all the great conversation which I had in my past and which I still can remember were “co-creating” driven. As I recognized this, I tried to have as much as possible of those conversations (Who doesn’t want to have great conversations? Everybody wants them!).
After I started to embed this into my life, I heard several times a person saying to me “Hey, that was a great conversation”.
About the real value I'm becoming aware only now. As a Startup you are quite often in the situation that you must find solutions, decide options, create something new (also in fields where you are not an expert) etc. Of course, it is important to ask others for feedback (potential customers, experts, friends) and discuss things (nobody is superwomen / superman).
When I did that in the past, I usually received feedback about my thoughts / ideas or her/his thoughts. With having adjusted my communication style I'm not just getting feedback, but the conversation gets into a co-creating dialog. I'm not "just" getting feedback or her/his view, now we are creating together a shared view!
This is of such huge value! Mainly for young startups which have no options to fail. This is the "vitamin" for young startups and their conversations!
