First too high, then too low

This week was exceptionally difficult for me. I spent much of the week being angry and upset, for reasons not related to this course. That being said, I wanted to spend a little time to process this most recent coaching session with Marc before I responded.

For me, this week's session was very productive. My challenge was to suspend judgement and have a conversation with someone I have had difficulty speaking with. My previous ABA Superviser fit that bill. To describe him as being abrupt is to put it mildly, and since a new superviser was hired, any interactions have been negligible. He put in his notice, and since this was his last week, I thought this assignment would be the ideal opportunity to ask him about our previous supervision experience. I was wrong! My attempt at a conversation was extremely brief and for me, disappointing.

After talking with Marc, I realized that just because my expectations were changing, and I was modifying my behavior, it was unrealistic to expect someone else to simply follow suit. A strategy that might have encouraged a conversation would be to first explain to the person exactly what I was attempting, the purpose of the conversation, and what I would like to see as a result.

My second attempt had similar but opposite results. I had a polite conversation with a man who works in the maintenence department. Again, I think I would have been more successful if I had first explained to the person what I was attempting and why. Another barrier to my exercises in conversation was the time constraints. I'm sure my workplace is not unique in that noone has enough time to accomplish their routing tasks, never mind all the surprises and dillemmas that are a natural part of any residential facility.

I would like to extend this assignment, implement my strategies, and see if I can have a better result. The time constraint will remain a constant, but I think opening the dialogue by downloading information may nudge the discussion beyond the polite stage.
Jo Ann