Member Spotlight: Troy Knott

This month we focus our member spotlight on Troy Knott, a student, teacher, and practitioner of leadership principles. He is an independent certified coach, trainer, and speaker with the John Maxwell Team. His passion for leadership coaching and training has led him to impacting teams including Fortune 500 companies. He understands that leaders who clearly communicate inspire their teams to greatness.

In 2020, Troy became certified as a Christian Life Coach by the American Association of Christian Counselors. His passion to live honorably through personal integrity and moral courage serves as his motivation to make a significant, positive impact in the lives of other men. Guided by Godly wisdom, Troy challenges men towards personal growth, so they achieve greater clarity, focus and results in their leadership roles as husband, father and in the workplace.

When and how did you become a part of The Communication Gym?

Two years ago I was provided a scholarship through the “10 New Leaders” program by John Dame. The Communication Gym’s “Leadership MVP” course was part of that program. That is when I was first introduced to Dale and The Communication Gym. After that, I joined the Ideal Client Professional Practice Group. There I learn more about the business development process and continue my practice of communication styles with a supportive group of other professionals.

What challenge(s) were you facing before you became a member at The Gym?

I didn’t realize they were challenges until Dale introduced me to the different communication styles others have based on their DISC profiles. Learning about styles opened my eyes to this new way of looking at how people communicate with others.

What have you learned about yourself and others?

What the Leadership MVP program helped me to realize and improve was that people communicate quite differently, and it was my responsibility as a communicator to present my message in a way (or style) that others will receive according to their style of communication. I learned how to communicate to others more effectively according to their DISC profile.

How has The Gym helped you, both professionally and personally?

Personally, The Gym has helped me communicate more effectively in my marriage. Understanding how my wife receives information from me has helped me tailor my communications to her to alleviate confusion. It has also helped me understand how she communicates to me so I am more patient when she shares information to me in a different way than I like to receive it. Professionally, The Gym has helped me to quickly identify how others receive information based on their DISC styles, so I can quickly adapt my message in a way I know they will receive and understand. In business, it is important to communicate ideas and solutions in a way that makes sense to the receiver of that information. The Ideal Client course that I am taking now systematically helps me understand how to do that.

For an athlete, daily practice both individually and as part of a team strengthens their skills and abilities and creates the muscle memory that allows them to perform at a high level, without thinking about the process and skills needed to perform at that level. The Communication Gym provides those same opportunities. Individual practice through video uploads and critiques from our coach (Dale) help hone my skills, so when I practice with other team members during our weekly sessions, I am able to receive their feedback live, thus strengthening my communications muscles so I am able to communicate more effectively during my work day.

Can you share an instance with us when the skills you learned @ The Gym led to a positive outcome?

As part of the Ideal Client curriculum, I learned how to Level the Playing Field for the many meetings I lead. What this means is that I set the expectations for meetings by providing each invitee the agenda prior to our meeting, defining how long the meeting will take, and my expected outcomes of the meeting. This has made my meetings more efficient, effective and productive. Invitees receive materials to review prior to our meetings with the expectation that they will have reviewed the collateral prior to the meeting; they come to the meeting prepared with comments and suggestions, with an understanding that decisions will be made and next steps established to move forward with the initiative at hand. In addition, my presentations are intentionally designed for my audience in the way I have learned they will best receive the information based on their DISC communications styles. This keeps everyone engaged during our meetings.

Thank you to Troy for sharing his Communication Gym story with us. We enjoy working with members like Troy because we see the progression of their skills. Practice in and out of the gym leads to that muscle memory Troy mentioned. If you are interested in working out your communication muscles, contact us here and join us Thursdays at 11:30am for live gym sessions on LinkedIn.