Are You On the Same Page?

Getting on the same page can mean a lot of things.

It can be the first step in a collaboration

We’re going to invite voices expressing multiple ideas and perspectives to build the biggest, richest picture of where we’re at so we can create something new or fix something broken together.

It can be a failsafe against miscommunication 

We’re going share, ask questions, and  sum up what we’ve been talking about with one another so we can confirm we’re operating or moving forward with a mutual understanding of info (i.e., our answers to the questions where, when, who, why, what, how will be relatively the same)

It can be a way to diagnose something that feels out of whack

Can’t figure out why your expectations aren’t getting met (they’re late again, why on earth would they do it that way, etc.)?  Can’t figure out how to meet someone else’s expectations (I’m doing exactly what they asked for, why do they still seem unhappy)?  Maybe somewhere along the way your paths diverged and you thought you were both using the same map but you weren’t.

It’s surprising how often we assume we’re on the same page with people about trivial and fundamental things and we’re really not.  Going back to find any glitches can help you surface miscommunication, resolve conflict, and remove roadblocks to well-being and creativity. 

Think about a situation with your work team, family, friends, or any other group you’re in where you feel stuck.  Do you & the person/s you’re in this with share the same understanding of:

When you’re on the same page about these, you’ll start going forward together.

Need some help figuring out if and where things got off track?  Check this out and see what comes to the surface: