Role of Communication in Effective Leadership - Research Paper Example

 Communication and Leadership Introduction Communication plays a vital part between people and organizations. The way people work within organizations and communicate can facilitate success or failure if the method of communication does not work. Communication is multidimensional. It includes talking, sharing, exchanging, transferring. It can include passing on or conveying messages, ideas, opinions, news or information from one person or thing to another or between organizations. The message may not be intended for anybody in particular but it may be for enjoyment of the creator; so, there may be no intended receiver. For better communication, a sender/receiver, medium and message are essential. The message must be structured in the mind of the sender and he must choose a medium before sending it. With the help of communication, managers or leaders are able to provide quality goods and services to their customers. Likewise, it is because of continued effective communication to the customers that goods and services can be consumed for utilization. As far as leadership is concerned, a leader's communication is a mechanism that must be implemented for a leader to be effective. A successful leader is one who knows how to handle the tool of communication to manage and lead the members of an organization. Leaders are highly influential people in an organization and they have a strong impact on the organization and its employees. No one can deny the influence of leaders, as they are the one’s who have lead a certain group in order to facilitate the organization to gain success and to affect the bottom line. The employees working under such leaders are typically more devoted to their leaders than they would be if the leader had a dictatorship style. Leaders tend to be optimistic, self-motivated, persuasive, convincing and goal oriented people. They are needed in all workplaces because of their ability to lead and to motivate the employees at different times. They help the management in bringing about a change. They facilitate employees to move in a certain direction. People with good leadership attributes are considered attractive and effective. Effective leaders are always able to motivate people in their set direction. For organizations that desire an effective working environment, communication and leadership are equally important. Different writers have given different models for leadership and communication in terms of generating a supportive theory for leaders and managers to help them out in the process of communication. In this paper, I have included the ideas, models, theories and concepts of six authors who are considered experts in leadership. I have made use of works such as Caputo, Palosaari and Pickering, “Effective Communication” (2003), Cohen and Bradford, “Influence without Authority” (2005), Covey, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989), Covey, “The Eighth Habit from Effectiveness to Greatness” (2004), Littlejohn, “Theories of human communication” (2002), Patterson, Grenny, MacMillan and Al Switzler, “Crucial Conversations” (2002) and Schein, “Organizational Culture and Leadership” (1992) for analyzing leadership and communication and to develop a personal approach for effective leadership communication. Major Concepts and Models of the Process of Communication Littlejohn categorizes communication as an important aspect of human existence and also informs that the significance of communication cannot be negated from our lives (2002). Communication has changed with the passage of time and is more revolutionary because of technological developments. It is only because of communication that human existence is possible on earth. There are new forms of communication in development but communication has never left the world. Littlejohn says that it is very complicated to define communication because it is a very broad term (2002). There are many theories that define communication differently. There are language theories of communication that give the main importance to language and meaning of communication. Verbal and nonverbal forms of communication are two forms of communication. Communication theories related to language come under the category of verbal and non-verbal communication. Language can be considered the largest means of delivering information both orally and in writing (Littlejohn, 2002). Verbal forms of communication can be divided into many parts. As an example, speech deliverance, telephonic talking, radio and television are examples of verbal communication. Examples of non-verbal communication include kinesis, movement of hands, eyes, ears, lips, figures, expressions and much more (Littlejohn, 2002). According to Littlejohn, communication is a two way process in which a link is established between the sender and receiver by means of a medium that exists between them (2002). The switching over of comprehension is also a process of communication in which one individual helps the other in understanding a piece of information (Littlejohn, 2002). According to Patterson, Grenny, MacMillan and Al Switzler, there are seven steps that can be adopted in crucial conversations which are: Start at heart, Learn to look, Make it safe, Master my stories, State my path, Explore other’s paths and move to action (2002). Crucial conversations are those conversations that are highly risky, take emotions and feelings into consideration and in which, the communicators have varying opinions (Patterson, et. al, 2002). Crucial conversations are an important part of communication and in communicating, the people who are involved in the communication process should take into consideration the seven steps in order to make his/her crucial conversations successful. Crucial conversations are a pivotal part of our daily lives and they affect our lives to a great extent. Due to the influence of crucial conversations in our daily lives, they must be given importance. They are discussions between two people where there are high stakes, differing ideas or suggestions and they are highly emotional (Patterson, et. al, 2002). The first step of mastering the technique of crucial conversations is to focus on one's own heart while conversing (Patterson, et. al, 2002). One should have the skill to learn to look, he/she should be aware of the conversation going towards being crucial and one should be aware of his/her own situation under pressure (Patterson, et. al, 2002). One should apologize in case of any misunderstanding and should try to clear the misunderstanding (Patterson, et. al, 2002). For every person who is involved in crucial communication, it is necessary to set a path for action and for moving towards that path. Some facts and stories should be fully known (Patterson, et. al, 2002). The facts and stories should be kept separate. The facts and stories should be shared in order to be successful and involving others in the process of communication. There should be multiple ways that can be adopted in case of any problematic situation (Patterson, et. al, 2002). One should decide on one line of action and afterwards there should be documentation along with the functioning (Patterson, et. al, 2002). Caputo, Palosaari and Pickering in their book, Effective Communication state that communication is a process which should be effective in order to deliver the message to the receiver. Communication can take place through various mediums and communication is interpersonal, organizational and intra-group and can take place between two people, group, team and the whole organization (Caputo, et. al, 2003). Communication has also many barriers that are there because of language, biases, cultural differences, interpersonal relationships and distraction of various kinds (Caputo, et. al, 2003). Visual, tactile, vocal and image form are kinds of non-verbal communication on all levels of group formation (Caputo, et. al, 2003). As far as leadership is concerned, non-verbal communication is crucial and significant. According to Caputo, Palosaari and Pickering, listening is the most crucial part of communication because through listening we are able to know the ideas and feelings of other members of a group (2003). For leadership and management, listening plays the most important role and it is informed that leaders are able to lead and make people follow them on the basis of their enhanced and improved listening skills (Caputo, et. al, 2003). Covey states that a working communication process must first seek to understand and then to help others to understand (1989). The listener should understand first in the process of communication and should then try to develop understanding for the other member in the communication process (Covey, 1989). There should be communication between two members on the basis of understanding and the other members should be given a chance to express his/her views regarding a situation or problem. If the other person is not allowed to express himself/herself, there will be a reduced communication process which is somewhat deteriorating (Covey, 1989). According to Cohen and Bradford, communicative and collaborative process should be in a way that is able to convert enemies into allies (2005). Communication is very important in leaders’ correspondence with their employees. Leaders should be able to convert the employees and coworkers into allies of the organization (Cohen and Bradford, 2005). Schein informs that in organizational culture, the leaders of the organization can develop an organizational culture where, there is intercommunication between the leaders and the employees so that the suggestions and ideas of the leadership and employees get exchanged and there is a prosperous communication procedure between the organizational members (1992). Basic Theories of Communication in Relation to Concepts of Leadership Leadership is strongly related to communication because leaders can have the capability to become effective and efficient when they have interactive communication. Communication is very rewarding and effective if done with expertise. Leaders should be efficient listeners. For effective management, managers should spend a fair proportion of their time listening but many managers and leaders do not know how to take advantage of this tool. Being a good listener brings many benefits, including the ability to receive more accurate information (Covey, 1989). Good listening helps to build relationships and it is a vital part of appraisal and training and is also one of the key learning channels open to the managers (Covey, 1989). Communication involves four basic components; speaking, writing, reading and listening. If managers are able to listen effectively, they can also do the other component tasks easily (Covey, 1989). Schein links leadership with knowledge management and leadership is directly linked to communication (1992). The leaders get access to knowledge on the basis of the communication process and this communication process is there because the attainment of knowledge and information from the employees can only be there with the help of the employees (Schein, 1992). According to Schein, as the organizational culture develops leaders play an effective role since they have a deep-rooted influence on the organization (1992). With the communication policies adopted by the leaders of an organization, the organizational culture will set a well-structured and established communicative process. Leaders are required to learn effective communication so that they are able to lead their employees (Caputo, et. al, 2003). Many times, the managers are the leaders so that they are required to manage and create a well-developed process of communication.. According to Caputo, Palosaari and Pickering, leadership is incomplete without effective communication (2003). Littlejohn states that the process of communication can be informative, instructive and motivating (2002). Leadership should be involved in a communication process that is informative, instructive and motivating. Leaders should develop an encouraging communicative relationship with their employees (Littlejohn, 2002). Covey gives seven principles that involve leadership and communication. These are: “Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, Put first things first, Think Win/Win, Seek first to understand and then to be understood, synergize and sharpen the saw” (1989). The leaders should be proactive and should always involve the effective communication process to encourage and motivate the employees. Leaders should allow their employees a vehicle to speak within and should be active listeners so the process of communication will be easier (Covey, 1989). Active listeners will understand the message being delivered to them so they can help their employees develop active listening skills for themselves(Covey, 1989). According to Covey’s eighth principle, leaders should encourage others to search for their voices and employees should have the capacity to also recognize their own voice (2004). Cohen and David state that leaders can make use of communication for creating their influence at the workplace. Influence is not necessarily created by means of authority but it will be more appropriate to say that authority should be used in a manner that is supportive and encouraging (Cohen and Bradford, 2005). Leaders should develop a culture in their organizations where interaction with one another is easy and accessible. A leader is able to set his/her influence without authority on the basis of his communication skills (Cohen and Bradford, 2005). According to Patterson, Grenny, MacMillan and Al Switzler, leaders should be able to master crucial conversations and should follow the seven steps discussed by Covey to develop an effective communication process with their other employees of the organization (2002). There should be one objective behind a communicative process and there should be multiple ways of a problem that should be well thought out. The employees should be informed and be useful as they help to construct ideas to facilitate them with learning, and there should be an apologetic attitude from the leader in case there is some misunderstanding or problem in communication (Patterson, et. al, 2002). Personal Leadership, Communication Styles and Skills When I work in a group my leadership style is communicative. I work to get all the information I need and then I provide my group members with an opportunity to discus what we need to do as a team. I want to work as the authority in the group because I feel that group members are not fully willing to work on their own so they need some direction by management. I believe the leader should be the most capable and influential person in the group so they can assist the group in moving forward. Not only, should the manager be able to listen to what their group members hold for them but the manager should also inform the group members about their respective duties. The leader should be the most active member of the group and should be fully aware of the communication skills. I am somewhat authoritative and want the work done on time and I appear authoritative to my group members. Communication between the group members and the group leader is not considered to be a problem. I have consultants come in to help discuss any problems that exist in the group but I can still see room for improvement. In addition, the meetings are also arranged to discuss the work done and the requirements for further task performance. I know that listening is a very crucial step in communication but I try to persuade the group members to agree with what I have to say. I consider myself fully responsible for the tasks performed by my team members and I spend a lot of time getting them to do the job properly. In addition to my verbal communication I also understand that my nonverbal communication is important inside the group. I prefer verbal communication because everything must be documented and it is easier to read. Personal Approach to Effective Leadership Communication I feel that communication should be given utmost importance by leaders. My personal approach for effective communication will be as following: A the leader I will set a goal for myself before I start a communication procedure with the group my team members. I will become aware of the situation and the problems that need resolution. After setting goals and having full awareness of the problem or situation, I will deliver my message in an easy to understand manner and I will allow the group or team members to express their own views related to the situation. It is important at that time for me to listen attentively to the expressed views of other group members. There should be group meetings to discuss procedures and the leader should listen to their group and team members and should decide after receiving all views what the course of action will be; . the final decision should always be with the leader although there can be multiple paths that can be there for the resolution of a problem. The leader's attitude should be encouraging and motivating for the employees so they will work more effectively. The communication procedure should continue to grow and change sot that leadership is always clear. so that the whole process of effective leadership is quite clear. A leader can only be effective when he/she is aware of the effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Conclusion After analyzing the leadership and communication theories, aspects and concepts given by the authors, Caputo, Palosaari and Pickering, “Effective Communication” (2003), Cohen and Bradford, “Influence without Authority” (2005), Covey, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989), Covey, “The Eighth Habit from Effectiveness to Greatness” (2004), Littlejohn, “Theories of human communication” (2002), Patterson, Grenny, MacMillan and Al Switzler, “Crucial Conversations” (2002) and Schein, “Organizational Culture and Leadership” (1992), it is quite clear that leadership and communication are interrelated. The leaders are required to communicate effectively to get the required work from their employees. Communication whether it is verbal or nonverbal is equally important because in an organizational or business setting, communication plays an important role. Leaders must be aware of the techniques and skills of communication to come up as effective leaders. References Caputo, J. S., Palosaari, J. and Pickering, K. (2003). Effective Communication. UK: Dramatic Lines. Cohen, Allan and Bradford, David. (2005). Influence without Authority. 2nd Ed. New York: John Willey. Covey, Stephen R. (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Birmingham: Free Press. Covey, Stephen R. (2004). The Eighth Habit from Effectiveness to Greatness. California: Routledge. Littlejohn, S. W. (2002). Theories of human communication. 7th edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Patterson, K., Grenny, J., MacMillan, R. and Al Switzler. (2002). Crucial Conversations. Miami: McGraw-Hill. Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Second Ed. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Read More