Resources to Support
The Performance Talk Chapter
Learning More about Your People
Working with people is at the heart of Supervisory Leadership. It would be wonderful if we were all talented in that area, but we're not. To help yourself get better, read Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. Goleman is the originator of the Emotional Intelligence material. This book is a better choice for you than his first book, Emotional Intelligence because it was written to apply Goleman's findings to the workplace.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the name of a set of techniques originally proposed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder to describe the relationship between mental images and communication processes. Some folks swear by it, claiming that NLP has made a major improvement in their communications and performance. Others swear at it, charging that there's no scientific basis for NLP and that its proponents are charlatans.
Luckily, you don't need to become embroiled in the debates to get some benefits from NLP material. My own experience is that there are things in NLP that will help you communicate more effectively, whether or not you buy into the entire theoretical framework. If you want to find out more, I suggest two books
Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People by Joseph O'Connor and John Seymour is the class, most-recommended text. It's been around for a long time. The downside is that it's not really focused on workplace communication and is very, very dry. But if you want a good grounding in theory, this is the book of choice.
NLP at Work: The Difference That Makes a Difference in Business by Sue Knight is at the other end of the spectrum. It is directly focused on the workplace and personal development and quite well-written.
My guess is that if you like one of these books, you will not like the other. So look inside the book on Amazon, or review an actual copy before you buy.
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