LEADERSHIP

COMMUNICATION
 Communication
 What is involved in communication?
 “Leaders communicate to share the vision with
others, inspire and motivate them to strive
toward the vision, and build the values and
trust that enable effective working
relationships and goal accomplishment.” (Daft,
2008, p. 259)
 Technological Concerns
 Technology in communication:
 Good & Bad?
 Missing…
 Affect outcomes?
 People as ‘whole’ people?
 Personal?
 Quality of communication?
 Lazy communication?
 Feedback Concerns
 As followers we like to give feedback so why
when we are leaders do we no longer want to
hear feedback?
 Why don’t coaches ask for feedback?
 Feedback from assistants?

 Top-down paradigms vs. inverted paradigms.

 Communication Process
 Encoding & Decoding
 Individual differences
 Knowledge.
 Values.
 Attitudes.
 Background.
 Goal: Transfer information WITH shared
meaning.
 Communication Types
 Management Communication: directing the
traffic of communication. Collecting pieces of
the puzzle and determining who gets to see
which pieces at which time.
 Leadership Communication: using the ‘whole’
person approach and ensuring everyone can
see the vision (the picture on the box of the
puzzle) while striving to promote upward
communication links. High use of purpose,
ultimate vision and stories / metaphors.
 Communication Champion

Purpose Directed
Direct attention to
Strategic Leader vision/values, desired
outcomes; use
Conversation as persuasion
Internal and Open climate Communication
external Listening Champion
sources Discernment Methods
Dialogue Use rich channels
Stories and metaphors
Informal
communication
 Open Climate
 Sharing all types of communication across job
descriptions (horizontal) and hierarchies
(vertical).
 Surveys show employees want good and bad
information. Why don’t we, as leaders, give
open and honest information?
 Ownership in the text is akin to autonomy as
we discussed in Motivation & Empowerment.
Why Open the Communication Channels?
An open climate is essential for cascading vision, and cascading is
essential because:
Natural Law 1: You Get What You talk about
 A vision must have ample ‘air time’ in an organization. A vision must
be shared and practiced by leaders at every opportunity.
Natural Law 2: The Climate of an Organization is a
Reflection of the Leader
 A leader who doesn’t embody the vision and values doesn’t have an
organization that does.
Natural Law 3: You Can’t Walk Faster Than One Step at a
Time
 A vision is neither understood nor accepted overnight. Communicating
must be built into continuous, daily interaction so that over time
followers will internalize it.

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 Asking Questions
 Conditioned to have right answers and only
give right answers.
 Problems need answers… leaders must have
and provide the right answer.
 Think of school…
 Ripple effect of a leader asking questions is…?
 Leader centered vs. follower-centered.
 Think about categories of leadership…
 Listening
 Most folks are thinking of what to say next
while they should be listening to what is
actually being said.
 Average retention rates of auditory
information is around 25%.
 Can listening be draining?
 .
Ex 9.4 Ten Keys to Effective Listening
Keys Poor Listener Good Listener
1. Listen actively Is passive, laid back Asks questions;
paraphrases what is said

2. Find areas of interest Tunes out dry subjects Looks for opportunities,
new learning

3. Resist distractions Is easily distracted Fights distractions;

tolerates bad habits;
knows how to
concentrate
4. Capitalize on the fact Tends to daydream with Challenges, anticipates,
that thought is faster slow speakers summarizes; listens
than speech between lines to tone of
voice
5. Be responsive Is minimally involved Nods; shows interest,
positive feedback
 Ex . 9.4 (contd.)
Keys Poor Listener Good Listener
6. Judge content, not Tunes out if delivery is Judges content; skips
delivery poor over delivery errors

7. Hold one’s fire Has preconceptions; Does not judge until

argues comprehension is
complete
8. Listen for ideas Listens for facts Listens to central themes

9. Work at listening No energy output; faked Works hard; exhibits

attention active body state, eye
contact
10. Exercise one’s mind Resists difficult material Uses heavier material as
in favor of light, exercise for the mind
recreational material
 Discernment
 Utilizing nonverbal and situational cues not
verbalized during communication.
 We are taught to be PC and speak words that
are less likely to offend. Most of us aren’t
taught how to behave while we are speaking.
 Remember only 25% of our words are retained!
 People watching… full time and not as a
boredom quelling activity.
 Dialogue
 Finding that shared meaning in the message
and building upon that base layer by layer with
a lack of right vs. wrong and judgments.
 Discussions are taught and encouraged.
 Debates, position statements, right vs. wrong.
 Sports are huge for this. Sometimes called ‘bar room
debates’.
 Best 3rd baseman of all-time is…?
 Dialogue vs. Discussion
Conversation
Lack of understanding,
disagreement, divergent points
of view, evaluate others
Dialogue Discussion

Reveal feelings State positions

Explore assumptions Advocate
Suspend convictions convictions
Build common Convince others
ground Build oppositions

Result Result

Long-term, innovative Short-term resolution

solutions Agreement by logic
Unified group Opposition beaten
Shared meaning down
Transformed mind-sets Mind-sets held onto
 Communicate like a Champion:
 Establish credibility: knowledge, expertise,
relationships, track-record and demonstrating a
‘we’ mentality.
 Build goals on common ground: show folks how
what they do impacts the overall picture and that
the overall picture benefits them.
 Make your position compelling to others: use
emotion to your advantage through symbols,
metaphors and stories.
 Connect emotionally: EQ and adapt to the
situation to ensure followers are ready to listen.
 A Continuum of Channel Richness
Electronic
mail, IM,
Web, intranet Face-to-face
Formal report verbal
Disadvantages Advantages
Impersonal Personal
One-way Two-way
Slow feedback Fast feedback
Low High
channel channel
richness richness
Advantages Disadvantages
Provides record No record
Premeditated Spontaneous
Easily Dissemination
disseminated hard
Memos,
Telephone
letters
 Channel Richness
 The ability to handle multiple cues
simultaneously.
 The ability to facilitate rapid, two-way
feedback.
 The ability to establish a personal focus for the
communication.
 Stories & Metaphors
 The goal is to further emphasize the emotional
connection.
 Must consider the communication process still.
 Information must be congruent with listeners
abilities, knowledge base and/or experiences.
 Select stories carefully as listeners only
remember 25% anyway and the story is more
likely to be in that 25% than the remainder of
your verbalized information.
 Informal Communication
 Part is the nonverbal communication (weighted
higher than verbal) and the goal as the leader is
to have our verbal and nonverbal match to
enhance our credibility and further emotional
connections.
 Part is the setting. Informal conversations can
dramatically influence the openness of an
environment and the transfer of information.
 Think school…