Communication and leadership - Speech or Presentation Example

?Running Head: Communication and leadership Communication is an important element of anygroup (Richmond, McCroskey and McCroskey 2005). In an organization communication is both formal and informal. A good communication strategy helps the leader to effectively interact with his subordinates and therefore encourages participation of the employees in decision making process. An organization should strive to eliminate communication barriers by use of multiple channels of communication that are accessible to all the stakeholders. There is a strong relationship between effective communication and effective leadership. Introduction Communication in an organization is a key factor that helps to build and maintain relationships among employees (Richmond, McCroskey and McCroskey 2005). It is a process though which employees share ideas though spoken in addition to non-spoken communication methods. In an organization communication occurs between employees at the same organizational level as well as between employees and their leaders (Richmond, McCroskey and McCroskey 2005). A competent leader uses effective communication programs to strategically communicate crucial information to the employees to help them work towards the expected changes in achieving the organizational goals (Facey n.d.). Effective communication results in workforce satisfaction, production efficiency, profitability and client satisfaction while poor communication leads to organizational failure. It’s therefore important for the leader and the employees to learn how to communicate effectively to achieve excellence in an organization. This paper will critically analyze the impacts of communication in organizational leadership and how to improve organizational leadership. Impacts of effective communication on leadership Success of an organization is based on technical competences as well as effective communication between all the stakeholders in an organization (Radhaswamy and Zia 2011).Strong leadership qualities help the organization to grow in a dynamic and unpredictable business environment especially when all the stakeholders understand the organizational goals. Effective communication ensures that employees understand the organizational goals and their roles in product improvement, client service and production processes (Richards 2013) Communication helps to establish and strengthen relationships between employees and as well as the relationships between employees and the management (Richmond, McCroskey and McCroskey 2005). A successful leader strives to meet employee’s needs and build trust by communicating any new development and seeking feedback by consultative discussion. Clearly defined communication structure helps to stimulate employee’s contentment leading minimized workplace absenteeism, low employee’s turnover and create a sense of ownership (Abugre 2011). A good relationship with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders helps to improve service delivery and customer satisfaction (Richards 2013). Effective modes of communication help in product development and innovations. A workforce that clearly understand their company’s goals are able to improve company’s products and services through research and innovations. Effective communications also allows the customers to contribute their ideas on product improvement (Richards 2013). Communication helps to build strong teams in an organization as employees at different levels of management are able to work together towards a common organizational goal as every employee understand his or her role towards the set goals. Communication also helps to empower employees in vital areas such as problem solving and conflict resolution by providing clear conflict resolution structures (Richards 2013). In regard to customer satisfaction, clear communication helps to manage customer expectations in service delivery. In medical sector, effective communication between the patients and the medical practitioner ensures provision of better health care since patients are involved from the admission, medical care processes all the way to discharge (The Joint Commission, 2010). The to and fro communication between the patient and the doctor ensures that the important information is clearly understood to allow both parties participate fully in the medical care. The medical practitioner must understand the information given by the patient and be able to fully relate it to his/her medical knowledge to enable them give the correct diagnosis and required care (The Joint Commission, 2010). How to improve communication Poor communication is costly for any organization and several adjustments can help improve organizational communications. To improve communication within an organization the leader must adapt different channels of communication such as emails, memos, meetings, telephone calls among others and ensure that the most important information is repeated as many times as possible (Holmes 2008). At personal level effective leaders should also be effective listeners to ensure they gather lots of information from their subordinates. All employees must also avoid use of ambiguous words that can not be understood by diverse groups in an organization. Finally the leader must break all the communication barriers within an organization to ensure free flow of information (Holmes 2008). Conclusion Communication is an important aspect of any organization that has a focus of improving its performances in a dynamic business environment across the globe. To adjust to the changes in the ever changing business environment the company’s leadership should be able to communicate their goals and expectations to their employees. Communications allows the employees to align their duties towards the common goal. Effective leadership and communication lead to improved productivity, workers satisfaction and client satisfaction and thus company’s profitability. Every company should therefore ensure there are effective channels of communication that ensure proper flow of information across all levels in an organization. References Abugre, J. (2011). Appraising the impact of organizational communication on worker satisfaction in organizational workplace. Problems of Management in the 21St Century, 7-15. Retrieved from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3cb7b111-01dd-4cc2-a20b-0567c0d1510c%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=102 Facey, J. (n.d.). Effective communication: skills that make leaders stand out from the crowd. Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Retrieved from: http://www.ceoforum.com.au/article-detail.cfm?cid=6128&t=/JoAnne-Facey-Mercer-Human-Resource-Consulting/Effective-communication-skills-that-make-leaders-stand-out-from-the-crowd. Holmes, T. A. (2008, Augast). Improving communication in culturally diverse settings. Connections. Retrieved from: http://doctortyrone.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/5-ways-to-improve-organizational-communication/ The Joint Commission (2010). Advancing effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care: A roadmap for hospitals. Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Retrieved from: http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/aroadmapforhospitalsfinalversion727.pdf Radhaswamy, P. and Zia, A. (2011). The importance of communication. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 5(4), 52-56. Retrieved from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ef43c47f-d3ee-434a-af84-d3eea0c6824b%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=102 Richards, L. (2013). How effective communication will help an organization. Demand Media. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communication-organization-1400.html Richmond, McCroskey and McCroskey (2005).Organizational communication for survival: Making work, work. The nature of communication in organizations. Retrieved from: http://my.ilstu.edu/~llipper/com329/mccroskey_chapter.pdf Read More