The Communication Environment

I am planning a new, upcoming webinar on setting a positive tone for team communication by creating a supportive communication environment. A supportive communication environment is one in which all members feel free to raise ideas, believe their ideas and contributions are valued by the rest of the team, and understand that sometimes a team needs to change course in order to achieve their shared goals. On the other hand, a defensive communication environment is one in which members pursue hidden agendas, discount other team members' contributions and are so certain that their way is the right way that they are no longer to objectively assess realities facing the team. Ultimately, supportive communication environments are productive and able to achieve the team's goals, while defensive communication environments are destructive.

What do you want to know about setting a supportive communication environment in your research teams? What do you think I should discuss in this presentation?

Association of Clinical Research Professionals Global Conference

I am excited to be presenting next week at the Association of Clinical Research Professionals Global Conference in Houston, Texas. I am presenting on communication strategies for working with collaborators at multiple institutions. In addition to presenting, I am looking forward to attending sessions on research ethics and clinical research project management. And as always, I am looking forward to connecting with my fellow clinical research professionals.

If you are in Houston for the conference, stop by room 332 on Sunday and say hi. Maybe even stay and learn something about communication.

Testing health web sites

InformationWeek has an interesting slide show this week examining health information web sites. The accompanying article has some good questions that consumers should ask when seeking health information online. Among the questions consumers should ask: Who sponsored the research study or health information presented?