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

Internal and external sources

Strategic ConversationOpen climate ListeningDiscernmentDialogue

Purpose DirectedDirect attention to vision/values, desired outcomes; use persuasion

MethodsUse rich channels Stories and metaphorsInformal communication

Leader as

Communication Champion

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.

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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 aReflection 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.

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 that thought is faster than speech

Tends to daydream with slow speakers

Challenges, anticipates, summarizes; listens 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 delivery

Tunes out if delivery is poor

Judges content; skips over delivery errors

7. Hold one’s fire Has preconceptions; argues

Does not judge until comprehension is complete

8. Listen for ideas Listens for facts Listens to central themes

9. Work at listening No energy output; faked attention

Works hard; exhibits active body state, eye contact

10. Exercise one’s mind Resists difficult material in favor of light, recreational material

Uses heavier material as exercise for the mind

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

Reveal feelingsExplore assumptionsSuspend convictionsBuild common ground

Long-term, innovative solutionsUnified groupShared meaningTransformed mind-sets

State positionsAdvocate convictionsConvince othersBuild oppositions

Short-term resolutionAgreement by logicOpposition beaten downMind-sets held onto

Result Result

Dialogue Discussion

Conversation

Lack of understanding, disagreement, divergent points of view, evaluate

others

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

Low channel richness

High channel richness

DisadvantagesImpersonalOne-waySlow feedback

AdvantagesProvides recordPremeditatedEasily disseminated

AdvantagesPersonalTwo-wayFast feedback

DisadvantagesNo recordSpontaneousDissemination hard

Formal report

Memos, letters

Electronic mail, IM,

Web, intranet

Face-to-face

verbal

Telephone

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…