„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

USE OF THE LIST IN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Professionals in human resource development (HRD) may find the list useful in many
different ways. Organizational-change agents need to be able to determine the intensity
of people’s feelings about events like mergers, alterations of organizational structure,
and the introduction of new technology. As previously mentioned, many personalgrowth
groups and drug- and alcohol-addiction programs distribute similar lists as
learning aids for participants who want to get in touch with their feelings. Training in
assertion, active listening, and stress management may be facilitated by distributing the
list and encouraging participants to use it. Sometimes the introduction of such a handout
formalizes a discussion of a difficult subject like feelings and allows people to
participate with a greater degree of comfort than they might otherwise experience.
In addition, the list may be used to help people to identify and discuss their feelings
during the course of teambuilding sessions. In such sessions team members deal with a
wide variety of issues: defensiveness, supportiveness, resistance, giving and receiving
feedback, conflict management, personal congruence (between statements of beliefs and
actual behavior), responsibility, risk taking, and various functional and dysfunctional
behaviors. It is difficult if not impossible to address these issues without being able to
identify and express feelings. Similarly, activities involving group problem solving and
consensus seeking may present opportunities to use the list to elicit statements about
feelings.
Managers, in particular, may benefit from being introduced to the list. During the
processes of coaching and performance appraisal, for example, a manager may need to
elicit information from a subordinate about personal feelings. Also, every manager
needs to obtain feedback regarding how subordinates feel about organizational or unit
changes; without such information, changes can fail shortly after implementation due to
people’s inability or unwillingness to follow through.
Professionals in HRD may also find the list helpful in eliciting feedback about the
impact of their behavior on others. Trainers and consultants have a significant influence
on the learning processes of those with whom they work. It is essential to determine
whether trainees and clients are receptive, involved, and enthusiastic; it is equally
essential to gauge how a professional’s behavior affects such attitudes as well as how
the professional feels about the effects of his or her behavior. Trainers who receive
negative feedback on their training styles, for example, need to get in touch with their
feelings about that feedback. Ignoring or denying feelings hinders the feedback process
and prevents trainers from taking steps to change behaviors that are negatively perceived
by trainees.
The HRD professional is continually confronted with the importance of identifying
and describing feelings; it is a rare training session or consultation that does not evoke
feelings that must be dealt with. The professional who is able to deal with feelings—and
to help others in the process of dealing with theirs—can be an invaluable asset to an
organization. The authors hope that the feelings vocabulary offered in this article will
facilitate the development of that ability.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 127