Hello and early Happy New Year!
With some time off, I've been thinking about changes and adjustments that I can make in the new year to be more effective. Spending time with family (a stew of different personalities, interests, and motivations) has (re)highlighted the importance of communication as a foundation of all relationships. It's certainly an area where I can improve.
My goals are:
1. Active listening (link below): working to shut down my response reflex in a conversation, giving others the respect and time to communicate their ideas.
2. Social media skill improvement: I began my career before cellphones and laptops became essential and have been playing catch up every since. I need to invest more time to learn how people receive, process, and respond in these settings - and keep up to date with new insights.
3. Learn a second language: I love the mental challenge (and stress) that comes with learning a new skill and to be a better member of my community, hemisphere, and world, I'm setting a personal goal to learn conversational Spanish this year. Bird migration crosses political and language barriers and their conservation depends on building human relationships across these boundaries. Speaking each other's languages is an important foundation to these relationships.
Please share any recommendations for social media best practices and learning Spanish.
What goals do you have for professional growth this year?
