Leadership communication

Leaders need good communication skills, particularly during these times of weakened trust,
uncertainty, and economic crisis. Successful leader communication includes deceptively simple
components, such as asking questions, paying attention to nonverbal communication, and
actively listening. This chapter describes tools and skills that can be used to overcome the
communication deficit pervading today’s organizations. It examines how leaders use
communication skills to make a difference in their organizations and the lives of followers.

1. How leaders communicate

Leadership means communicating with others in such a way that they are influenced and
motivated to perform actions that further common goals and lead toward desired outcomes.
Communication is a process by which information and understanding are transferred between a
sender and a receiver.

Leadership means communicating with others in such a way that they are influenced and
motivated to perform actions that further common goals and lead toward desired outcomes.
Communication is a process by which information and understanding are transferred between a
sender and a receiver. The sender initiates communication by encoding a thought or idea, by
selecting symbols with which to compose and transmit a message. The message is the tangible
formulation of the thought or idea sent to the receiver, and the channel is the medium by which
the message is sent. The receiver decodes the symbols to interpret the meaning of the message.
Encoding and decoding can sometimes cause communication errors because individual
differences, knowledge, values, attitudes, and background might cause misinterpreted messages.
Feedback enables someone to determine whether the receiver interpreted correctly. It occurs
when a receiver responds with a return message. Without feedback, the communication circle is
incomplete. Effective communication involves both the transference and the mutual
understanding of information. The ongoing process of sending, receiving, and feedback underlies
both management and leadership communication.

Managers spend almost all of their time with others. They scan their environments for important
information, gathering facts, data, and ideas, which in turn are sent to subordinates. A managers
then receives subordinate messages and feedback to check understanding and determine whether
to modify messages for accuracy. Managers have a huge responsibility directing and controlling
an organization. They communicate facts, statistics, and decisions. Effective managers establish
themselves at the centre of information networks to facilitate the completion of tasks.
Leaders often communicate the big picture rather than facts and pieces of information. A leader
can be seen as a communication champion, a person who is philosophically grounded in the
belief that communication is essential to building trust and gaining commitment to the vision.
Leaders use communication to inspire and unite people around a common sense of purpose and
identity and enables followers to live the vision. People need a vision to motivate them toward
the future. Learning, problem solving, decision making, and strategizing are all oriented around
and stem from the vision. Communication champions visibly and symbolically engage in most
communication-based activities. Regular communication is essential for building relationships
and keeping everyone lined up in the same direction. By establishing an open communication
climate, asking questions, actively listening to others, learning to discern underlying messages,
and applying the practices of dialogue and the Johari Window, leaders facilitate and support
strategic conversations that help move the organization forward. Leader communication is
purpose-directed. Leaders use many communication methods, including rich channels of
communication and using nonverbal communication. They often use symbolic language and
behaviour to get their message across and to influence others.

2. Leading strategic conversations

Strategic conversation refers to people talking across boundaries and hierarchical levels about the
group or organization’s vision, critical strategic themes, and thevales that can help achieve
desired outcomes. Six key components for facilitating strategic conversation are an open
communication climate, asking questions, active listening, discernment, dialogue, and the Johari
Window.

Strategic conversation refers to people talking across boundaries and hierarchical levels about the
group or organization s vision, critical strategic themes, and the vales that can help achieve
desired outcomes. Leaders facilitate strategic conversations by:

1) 1.Asking questions and actively listening to others to understand their attitudes and
values, needs, personal goals and desires.
2) 2.Setting the agenda for conversation by underscoring the key strategic themes that are
linked to organizational success.
3) 3.Selecting the right communication channels and facilitating dialogue.

Six key components for facilitating strategic conversation are an open communication climate,
asking questions, active listening, discernment, dialogue, and the Johari Window.

Open communication means sharing all types of information throughout the organization,
especially across functional and hierarchical boundaries. It enables leaders to hear what
followers have to say, which means the organization gains benefit of all employees minds. New
voices and continues conversation involving a broad spectrum of people revitalize and enhance
communication. Open communication conveys a stronger awareness of and commitment to
organizational vision, goals, and values.
Managers typically think they should have the right answers, but leadership is about asking the
right questions. Questions encourage people to think and empower them to find answers. There
are two basic approaches to leader questioning. One is leader-centred, in that it seeks to inform
the leader about specific issues, investigate problems or opportunities, and gather information,
ideas or insights. The other is follower-centred, in that it seeks to develop new insights,
encourage critical thinking, expand people s awareness, and simulate learning.

Just as important as asking questions is listening to the response, which involves the skill of
grasping and interpreting a message s genuine meaning. By listening, leaders can identify
strategic themes and understand how to influence others to achieve desired outcomes. It creates
an open communication climate, because people are more willing to share their ideas,
suggestions, and problems when someone s listening and values what they say.

One of the most rewarding and beneficial kinds of listening involves discernment. A leader
detects the unarticulated messages hidden below the surface of spoken interaction, complaints,
behaviour, and actions and solves the problem. In particular, leaders try to discern hot topics ,
which are issues that are characterized by strong emotions and extreme uncertainty and that can t
be resolved by resorting to facts and logic.

Sometimes, hot topics involve whole groups and in these cases dialogue can help. In dialogue,
people together create a stream of shared meaning that enables them to understand each other
and share a view of the world. They might start out as opposites, but by actively listening and
talking to one another, they discover their common ground, issues, and dreams on which they
can build a better future.

The Johari Window can be used to recognize the impact of leader communication tools. It
represents information within or about a person in relation to others in a group, in terms of
whether the information is known or unknown by the individual or by the group. The leader can
create an environment where people are learning about themselves and are more open with
others. There are four quadrants:

1) The open quadrant represents information that is known to both the individual and the
group.
2) The blind quadrant includes things that are known about the individual by others, but
unknown to the individual himself.
3) The hidden quadrant represents things that an individual knows about himself, but keeps
hidden from others.
4) The unknown quadrant represents things that are unknown to both the individual and to
others.
5)
3. Communicating to persuade and influence

Leaders don’t communicate just to convey information, but also to persuade and influence
others. They use communication skills to sell others on the vision and influence them to behave
in ways that achieve goals and help accomplish the vision.

To act as communication champions, leaders don t communicate just to convey information, but
also to persuade and influence others. They use communication skills to sell others on the vision
and influence them to behave in ways that achieve goals and help accomplish the vision. The
ability to persuade others is more critical today than ever before, because people don t just want
to know what they should do but

why they should do it. Leaders can follow four steps to practice the art of persuasion:

1) Establish credibility.
2) Build goals on common ground.
3) Make your position compelling to others.
4) Connect emotionally.

Persuasion is a valuable communication process that individuals can use to lead others to a
shared solution or commitment. To be persuasive and act a communication champion, leaders
must communicate frequently and easily with others in the organization. Yet for some
individuals, communication experiences are unrewarding, so they may avoid situations where
communication is required, known as communication apprehension.

4. Selecting rich communication channels

One key to effective communication is selecting the right channel for relaying the message. A
channel is a medium by which a message is carried from sender to receiver. The richness of an
information channel is influenced by the ability to handle multiple cues simultaneously, the
ability to facilitate rapid, two-way feedback, and the ability to establish a personal focus for the
communication.

One key to effective communication is selecting the right channel for relaying the message. A
channel is a medium by which a message is carried from sender to receiver. Research has
attempted to explain how leaders select communication channels to enhance communication
effectiveness. Studies have found that channels differ in their capacity to convey information.
Channel richness is the amount of information that can be transmitted during a communication
episode. The channels available can be classified into a hierarchy.
The richness of an information channel is influenced by three characteristics:

1) The ability to handle multiple cues simultaneously.

2) The ability to facilitate rapid, two-way feedback.
3) The ability to establish a personal focus for the communication.

Face-to-face discussion is the richest medium, because it permits direct experience, multiple
information cues, immediate feedback, and personal focus. Next is telephone conversations. Eye
contact and body language cues are missing, but a voice still carries a huge amount of emotional
information. Electronic messaging becomes more and more popular. Although it lacks both
visual and verbal cues, it allows for rapid feedback and can be personalized. Print media can also
be personalized, but only convey the cues written on paper and are slow to provide feedback.
Impersonal written media are the lowest in richness, because they are not focused on a single
receiver, uses limited information cues, and do not permit for feedback.

Channel selection depends on whether the message is routine or non-routine. Routine

communications are simple and straightforward, and convey data or statistics people already
agreed on. Routine messages can be efficiently communicated through a channel lower in
richness. Non-routine messages typically concern issues of change, conflict, or complexity that
have great potential for misunderstanding. They are often characterized by time pressure and
surprise. Leaders can communicate non-routine messages effectively only by selecting a rich
channel. Leaders should select a channel to fit the message.

Electronic communication has become a fact of life. New technologies provide highly efficient
ways of communicating and can be particularly useful for routine messages. However, they also
have disadvantages. Electronic messages became impersonal and have potential for
communication errors. They created hidden problems by depriving people of the human
moments that are needed to energize people, inspire creativity, and support emotional well-
being. A leader should effectively use electronic communication:

 Combine high-tech and high-touch.

 Consider the circumstances.
 Think twice and read twice before hitting the send button.

5. Nonverbal communication

Leader don’t just communicate in words, they also use nonverbal communication,which are
messages transmitted through actions, behaviour, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Leader don’t just communicate in words, they also use nonverbal communication, which are
messages transmitted through actions, behaviour, facial expressions, and tone of voice. It
accounts for over half of the entire message received in a personal encounter. Even the selection
of a communication channel can convey a symbolic message. Leaders strive to be aware of what
they signal to others in addition to verbal messages.

Researchers suggest that if there is a discrepancy between a person s verbal and nonverbal
communication, the nonverbal is granted more weight by the interpreter. In interpreting a leader
s nonverbal cues, followers determine the extent to which a leader s actions correspond with his
or her verbal messages.

One way leaders nonverbally communicate the value of feedback is by practicing management
by wandering around (MBWA). MBWA means that leaders leave their offices and speak directly
to employees as they work. These encounters send symbolic positive messages to followers that
leaders care about their ideas, opinions, and feelings.

6. Communicating in a crisis

A leader’s skill at communicating becomes even more crucial during times of rapid change,
uncertainty, or crisis.

A leader s skill at communicating becomes even more crucial during times of rapid change,
uncertainty, or crisis. Communicating in a crisis has always been part of a leader s job, but the
world has become so fast, interconnected, and complex that unexpected events happen more
frequently and often with greater and more painful consequences. To be prepared for
communicating in a crisis, leaders can develop four skills:

 Stay calm and listen harder.

 Be visible.
 Tell the truth.
 Communicate a vision for the future.