Ep 52 - shining light on all the literal leaders out there

What I have learnt about myself through understanding how literal I am is that I need to communicate very directly with people that I believe everything they say at face value, unless I can read in their body language or voice that they are joking or being dishonest. It feels so vulnerable to share this off the bat and I have to. I’ve been hurt many times because when someone may be joking or being sarcastic about something, I take it seriously and to heart. Which means I’ve wasted time on assignments or projects before because I listened and then acted on it. This never felt good.

Understanding your and others’ language is crucial to establishing communication bridges and trust within a team. Assumptions that we all understand when one is kidding around is hurtful and unkind. It creates that sticky and prickly energy that is so hard to recover from.

If you feel seen by reading this - you’re not alone - there are many of us are walk this path of taking everything literally.

For a full article and tools on supporting yourself or a colleague who is literal - subscribe to Hospitality from Within here.