Here’s the history that led me to write Talk To Me: Workplace Conversations That Work

WHY I DO WHAT I DO
I help you talk so people listen and listen so people talk and change the world, one conversation at a time. I’m a coach and trainer dedicated to the belief that real conversation is the most powerful tool wcommunication e will ever use.

Midway through a master’s degree, I concluded – to my dismay – that business communication, the profession I’d practised and loved for many years and was now studying, was overlooking the most important aspect of communication at work – how people talk to each other. I set out to do something about that, and launched It’s Understood Communication to work at the intersection of business and communication to help create better workplaces.

WHAT I DO
I work with individuals and teams to improve their collaboration and results through effective communication. That often means a switch from a directive style to a coaching style. I especially love working with “recovering project managers” and other professionals to adopt a coaching approach to management. A former journalist, I’ve spent over 20 years as a business communicator helping people in financial institutions, technology organizations, and nonprofits tell their stories and listen to people so they can be understood. I bring coaching skills and a lifelong study of interpersonal communication to my experience in senior management, corporate training and change consulting.

MY FORMAL EDUCATION
My undergrad degree (Bishop’s University) is in Psychology/Sociology and my MBA (Royal Roads University) specialty was communication management. My learning journey continued at The Graduate School of Coaching, Six Seconds EQ, Psychometrics Canada, Results Coaching/Neuroleadership Group. Recently, I’ve been part of Royal Roads University’s advanced coaching program, formally studying team and group coaching and building coaching cultures.

I’ve earned professional accreditation by the Institute of Canadian Bankers (ICB), the International Association of Coaching (IAC), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the International Consortium for Agile. I was honoured to be named one of IABC Canada’s Master Communicators, a lifetime achievement award for contribution to the profession.

ANCIENT HISTORY
I began my communication career in journalism, working at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Edmonton Journal, and The London Free Press. I then spent 10 years as an internal communications specialist in Canada’s financial services giants, TD/Canada Trust and BMO/Bank of Montreal. A family move took me to Bermuda where I worked with communication agencies and nonprofits.

NOWADAYS
Today, I and It’s Understood are based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada’s technology hub where I help organizations improve team performance and train coaches for the agile workplace. I’m also a partner in Leanintuit, a group of coaches supporting organizations adopting agile work practices and introducing change.

You can find me on Twitter as @itsunderstood.

Or contact me here.

To learn more about what I do, please visit my business web site: itsunderstood.com