Anita Gurule

IS 401, Winter 2017

Leadership and Communication

What makes a great leader? I think you first have to understand why leadership is so
important. What roles does the leader play in the big picture? What traits does a leader need?
How does verbal and nonverbal communication play into the leaders skills? A leaders success
is based on their ability to achieve business fundamentals. One of the major fundamentals in day-
to-day business tasks is communication. It is not a surprise that leaders spend most their time in
interpersonal situations. It also is not a surprise that many organizational problems result from
poor communication. One of the biggest reasons leaders fail is their inability to communicate
effectively. Communication does more than just share information. Communication can build
trust and create followers who will give their blood, sweat, and tears for their leaders beliefs and
goals. (Sinek, 2009)

Many disciplines effect leadership and communications. Of course, Business, Ethics,

History, Communication, Psychology, as well as Technology are just a few disciplines that can
prove to be valuable in leadership. To become a great leader, each leader needs to know
management roles as well as great communication skills. To answer the question, what makes a
great leader? you have to look into the discipline of Business Administration. To know how to
be an affective communicator you need to look into the discipline of Communication. To
understand the people you lead, a discipline in Psychology is also important. To be fluent in the
latest advancements, a discipline in Technology is needed. Why do these all tie together? A
leaders success is based on their ability to achieve business fundamentals. This is why I feel
Integrated Studies is so important for anyone who wants to be a business leader. No single skill
set is sufficient in attaining success in business.

One of the major fundamentals in day-to-day business tasks is communication. As

previously stated, leaders spend most their time in interpersonal situations. It also is not a
surprise that many organizational problems result from poor communication. One of the biggest
reasons leaders fail is their inability to communicate effectively. Communication does more than
just share information. Communication can build trust and create followers who will give their
loyalty and all their energy for their leaders beliefs and goals. Leaders have to give speeches
and presentations to peers or other groups. Leaders have to communicate goals or instructions to
others and since people learn differently, they must adapt their communication style to fit each
individual. Being able to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills. It will
not only help you in your career, but your personal relationships as well.

Another major fundamental is leadership. Management is about a set of processes that

make something function. Things like planning, budgeting, staffing, and measuring controls are
some examples. Leadership is about vision, believing, buying into, energy, power, motivation,
and inspiration. In short, leadership is a process of getting things done via people. (Nahavandi,
2005) Leadership is tapping into unlimited human potential and turning it into desired results.
(Rierson, 2014) Leadership is a critical management skill. It is the ability to motivate a group
of people toward a common objective. Leadership is also the ability to take control, build,
mobilize, and motivate a team. Being a good leader means knowing how to mentor and teach,
making yourself approachable to those you are responsible for. Taoussaint Romain once said on
CNN, Leader is the ultimate word, but in that word the only four letters that are important are
LEAD. It is not so much about me the person but it is about what I do with my influence,
authority, and power. To me it is clear, how you lead is all about leadership being a verb not a
noun. Its about your actions as a leader.

A leader should set a vision. (Nahavandi, 2005) A leader shares this vision with their
followers and give them the direction they need. This vision helps motivate employees and
improves work performance. This vision must show the actions, beliefs, values, and goals of the
company or organization. Leaders must not just talk about the vision, but they must walk the
talk. Actions will always speak louder than words. Leaders always need to be the example for
the employees to look up to. To get employees to buy into their vision, leaders must
communicate this vision to the employees. In the TED Talk by Simon Sinke, How Great
Leaders Inspire Action, Simon mentions, people dont buy what you do, and they buy why you
do it. You can hire people to do a job and they will work for money. However if you hire people
who believe what you believe they will work for you with blood, sweat, and tears. If leaders talk
about their vision and what they believe, they will attract people who believe the same. We
follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. Nelson Mandela once
said, Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely daydreaming,
but vision with action can change the world. He was definitely proof of a great leader.

A discipline in Business or Business Administration helps to identify leadership. What is

leadership? This may seem like a simple question; however, leadership is tough to define. It has
so many diverse meanings because there are so many different styles and parts of leadership.
What makes a great leader in one particular case may not in another. Ask anyone what is
leadership and you will hear something different every time. Some say leadership focuses
emphasis on getting things done, while others say leadership is when someone attends to their
followers. The dictionary has defined leadership as the action of leading a group of people or an
organization, or the power or ability to lead other people.

Some view leadership as management, but not all managers are leaders. Managers are
hired into management positions, while their followers pick leaders. Views on leadership have
also changed over the years. In prior history, the old corporate world functioned on
organizational structure and processes. It focused on the management aspects of business such
as control, planning, budgeting, and staffing. Managers did not focus on inspiring or motivating
employees. Goals and visions were not shared with the common worker. It was more about
power and there was a separation between managers and employees. However, over the last few
decades, interest in leadership has exploded. A discipline in Business Administration gives
students the knowledge necessary for them to serve in todays competitive business environment.
Students learn the fundamentals, theories, and processes of business. They develop an
understanding of managerial and communication skills, as well as the capability to make
informed business decisions. In addition, they learn about the different cultural aspects of a
global business world. A definition of leadership can change by culture or circumstances. There
are differences on what values a culture views as a desirable trait in a leader. So with so many
different views, how can you define what leadership means? Well simply put, leadership is
something a leader does.
Another discipline is Communication. Communication is the foundation upon which all
lasting relationships are built. It is fundamental in building trust. Communication cannot make a
person more trustworthy, but it creates a culture where trust can flourish. Without trust, it will be
nearly impossible to have influence, and without influence, you cannot lead. Leaders who
communicate effectively create connections, synergy, and positivity that changes people.
Leaders can get their followers to buy in to their goals and beliefs. Leaders values are clear and
solid; they can communicate and promote those values. Their team admires them and buy into
those goals and beliefs. Leaders inspire others through their words and actions. Leaders cannot
motivate without communication. Great leaders of high preforming, well-respected companies
are known for their open-book communications. This open book communication policy helps
build relationships with their employees because those employees feel valued. Being able to
communicate well is also essential in solving problems. Communication provides information
and advice to constructively and efficiently solve the problem.

Another communication skill leaders need is listening. Being a good listener is one of
the best ways to be a good communicator. Listening to others can give an important perspective
to any situation. Listening is not mind reading by anticipating what the speaker is going to say.
It is active listening and waiting for the speaker to finish before you respond. A great quote I
remember about listening is, You have two ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly.
Listening helps build trust because it shows that you respect and value the other person.
Everyone from the lowest level to the top deserves to be heard. Even if not every idea is acted
upon, people who feel they are being listen to and understood will give you everything they
have. It helps to listen to the full information from the speaker before beginning to problem
solve or give advice. If you begin to try to solve the problem in your mind, you are not listening
to what the speaker is saying. You may be solving a problem that has already been solved.
However, you do not know because you did not listen. It was not that problem they have an
issue with. It may be another problem that was created after they solved the original issue.
Listening can also help resolve conflict. Listening to others can give an important perspective to
the situation that you did not realize previously. As Stephen Covey says, Seek first to
understand than to be understood. The problem is most leaders do not listen. They forget to
focus on the speaker because they are under pressure or may be stressed.

A discipline in Technology also affects leadership. (Nahavandi, 2005) Technology is

great, however it can affect how we do business and communicate. For business, technology has
advanced so many different aspects of our day-to-day tasks. Software programs, internet, and
advancements in machine manufacturing has make it so we can accomplish jobs quicker and
more efficiently than before. With technology, the work environment is changing at a record
pace. We must be willing to change with it. We have so many innovations today that we never
thought possible just a few years ago. These changes can create great opportunities for the
organization. Employees can work from home and can always be connected with the use of
smart phones and other devises. They can get emails on their phones and can respond in much
quicker time than previously.

However, it can seem like communication is lost because of technology. Email, chat apps,
and other forms of screen-to-screen communication dominate todays work environments. As a
result, people are more disconnected with their closest peers. I think one of the best ways to
communicate to people would be to have a face-to-face talk, but with the globalization of many
businesses, your co-worker you need to chat with can be half way around the world. When we
send emails, texts, and messaging what we are trying to communicate can be lost. In addition,
body language and facial expressions, an important part of communication, is lost in our instant
society. Making connections and relationships takes much more of an effort. Another issue
companies have is social media. All too often, we hear about something getting tweeted or
posted that can cause a lot of backlash for the organization. Companies must be aware of
everything they post online.

A mentioned earlier, leaders spend most of their time in interpersonal relationships. A

discipline in Psychology is important because behaviors of leaders and their teams can affect
how the leader communicates to each individual. Leaders need to know and understand the
human aspect of management. This is how they can avoid appearing robotic or stagnant to those
they lead. Each individual has different personality traits, working habits, style and motivation.
A great leader knows how to adapt to each individuals style. A leaders behavior can affect the
outlooks and actions of the whole team. If the leader is positive, then it will create a positive
environment for the workers to flourish. Research has shown that positivity in the workplace can
leader to higher more quality production, as well as high morale and employee retention.
(Nahavandi, 2005) A discipline in psychological reflects an activity or behavior within
someone. Studying the psychology of management, we study the psychology of the person, his
activity and the most important thing influence of the mentality of the person on activity and
influence of activity on psychology and behavior of the person. (Seyidov, 2000) In short, a
leader must have a great understanding of their team. This is important for a leader to know
because in order to inspire or motivate your team to reach the organizations goals, you must
know what motivates and inspires each individual.

To me, this ties into Ethics as well. Ethics is like a moral philosophy that teaches us good
and bad, or right and wrong. (Johnson, 2012) Ethics are the principles and values of an
individual that they use to base decisions. This is how we make our decisions. It is the voice in
our head that tells us what we should do, or our subconscious. Most organizations develop a
code of ethics to help guide the organization in their policies and business decisions. Leaders
who are seen as ethical have better performance from their followers. If people feel they are
working with a leader who is trustworthy and ethical, their moral will be higher, and they tend to
be more loyal. When they see their leader being fair and making ethical decisions, it builds a
bond of trust. The standard that the leaders sets shows the employees how to behave. Their
leader is their role model. So they will want to be ethical and have great integrity was well.
Adhering themselves to the highest ethical standards. (Johnson, 2012) All coming back to
behavior.

In the journal by Kenneth Savitsky, he talks about how people believe they communicate
better with close friends than strangers. (Savitsky, 2011) Savitsky talked about how this is not
the case. He termed it closeness-communication. It seems that people overestimate their
success when communicating with a friend, however they put more engaged monitoring when
speaking to a stranger. I think we tend to believe that our friends know what we are
communicating so we are more lax. We think they know what we know, see what we see, and
think they know more than any stranger will. The issue with his analysis is that it goes against
other analysis that we communicate the same with people who are like us. Most of our friends
have similar backgrounds, education, and environments as us so we tend to have the same
communication style. We also have a personal background with the person and do know more
about a subject or issue than most strangers would. I know most of us have inside jokes we have
with close friends that would not be understood by an outsider. Communication is important in
relationships. No matter how alike we think our friends are, we experience things differently.
Openly communicating with your friends, without the assumption they already know, can make
you see how differently they interpret what you are saying. Think about couples who always say
that their partner is not listening or does not communicate with them. This is a perfect example
of how a message can be reviewed or understood differently. If a husband thinks his wife is
upset and asked if she is okay, when she responds yes, he thinks she is okay. However, the wife
is upset and gets even madder because her husband does not care. He cannot tell she is upset.
The lax communication can cause conflict to ensue.

The article by Lynne Eisaguirre gives ways to communicate effectively during conflict.
Most days at work, you have to deal with some type of conflict or tension. It has become an
unavoidable workplace occurrence. This is why understanding how to resolve conflict is so
important. When arguing during conflict, most of us are not listening. (Eisaguirre, 2008) She
mentions that one of the most important skills in conflict resolution is listening. However truly
listening is not easy for us. We constantly have numerous things going on in our minds. We also
have selective hearing. We tend to only listen or hear the things we want, when we want to. Our
impatience gets in the way of our listening and of skillful conflict resolution. (Eisaguirre, 2008)
Eisaguirre does have a point on listening; however, keeping an open mind and understanding the
other persons view are also extremely important. If we approach conflict with an open mind
and willingness to understand the other persons point of view, we can find a common ground.
Even if you feel differently, the other persons feelings are just as equally important. Having the
open mind to their point of view can also make you see things you did not before. Believe it or
not, but your way is not always the right way.

It is important to remember that conflict is not always bad. Conflict is vital to emotional
and personal growth. Conflict opens up new ideas and solutions we may not have thought about
before. Without conflict no change or personal growth can occur. Difficulties are meant to
rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong with conflict, William Channing.
Confronting conflict helps us to address the small issues so they do not become a bigger problem
later. Most of conflict comes from an emotional response. Therefore, if we avoid conflict, these
little things begin to eat at us until we explode. Learning to resolve conflict in a constructive
way can improve relationships. It is important to get to a win-win solution. You will never
experience life without conflict, so embracing it will help you grow as an individual.

I learned to realize my previous bias when communicating. Communication bias occurs

when someone communicates only by their personal experience, disregarding their peers or
customers communication style. Communication bias can come from multiple sources. Bias
happens because of a lack of understanding or tolerance for someone elses point of view. All
too often, we do not consider the perspectives of others. Today, many businesses will not
tolerate communication bias. This is because todays businesses are global and focus on the
ability to communicate across cultural and other diverse communication styles. Keeping a
business diverse can create greater innovation and expand their company into more markets.
Create more diverse business teams and more diverse customer base. Making a need for better
understanding and flexibility when communicating amongst these diverse cultures. In addition,
bias communication can create conflict amounts peers and customers that can create distrust and
miscommunication. Unfortunately, our bias can be unconscious and not noticed by us. We can
think we are communicating without any bias thoughts or actions, but in reality, we are.
Becoming more self-aware will help us break these unconscious thoughts. Successful
communication requires communicators to recognize that others perspectives may differ from
their own and that others may not always know what they mean. (Keysar & Henly, 2002) We
must become aware of the need to use language that recognizes our diversity and does not
offend, demean or exclude people. (UWM Guide)

I had to learn how to set aside my personal bias and avoid conflict, and when
unavoidable, how to resolve conflict. This was a huge lesson for me since I was in a position
that only dealt with problem cases or issues. In a sense, conflict can happen because of our bias.
Our unwillingness to see the other persons point of view or our lack of understanding. You must
be open and actively listen. This helps to understand the other persons perspective. In most
cases, conflicts arise because of misunderstandings. If we actively listen and open our minds to
understand the other person then we can see a different perspective we may have not seen before.
(Eisaguirre, 2008) If we come into conflict, knowing it is a misunderstanding and not an attack it
calms us and breaks down our defensive response. Sometimes conflict is a result of a culture
clash. (Eisaguirre, 2008) We need to be aware that different cultures have different approaches
to conflict communication. Again, we have to break the communication bias within us.

I also learned a lot about my previous bias about leading. Being human, anything we
approach in life we have biases on. Learning and understanding these biases will help you make
better decisions and be a stronger leader. Just like with communication bias, our personal
background and experiences creates bias in our leadership style. So how do we avoid bias as
leaders? Well engage in self-awareness for one. (Catalyst, 2014) Recognize when you may have
been bias and question those bias thoughts or opinions. This will help you identify,
acknowledge, and address biases. Be open to learn from those who are different from you. Stay
committed to constantly reviewing your personal bias. This is a constant, life learning process. I
know I have experienced my fair share of failures along the way to leadership success. I have
used my own bias opinion and compared people to myself. I have always followed through and
followed up on things so it was so difficult to understand why others did not. I took initiative
and responsibility to ensure things were done. I had a bias fixed mindset. I had to learn that
others have their own way and different work styles.

Understanding and looking at my perception made me more aware of my weaknesses and

has helped me improve on them. My understanding as a whole has now developed and changed.
Having different perspectives and point of views helps to elevate groupthink. Groupthink is
when a group makes faulty decisions because the group pressures lead to a deterioration of
mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement. A group is especially vulnerable when
its members are similar in background. (Irving, 1982) Making sure teams are made up of people
from different backgrounds and maybe different areas is one way to avoid groupthink. Also
encouraging each team member to voice his or her opinion is also crucial. Another change is how
we think about communication. We tend to think we communicate better than most people do
when we are in groups that have the same experiences or backgrounds from us. We tend to form
groups with those who are similar to ourselves and therefore exhibit the same communication
style. By working and forming groups with those who are different from ourselves, helps
challenge us. We learn new things and get to enjoy new experiences when we step outside of our
comfort zone.
Resources:

The closeness-communication bias: Increased egocentrism among friends versus strangers.

(n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103110002118

A Guide to Bias-Free Communications [Pamphlet]. (n.d.). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin

Madison.

Communicating Effectively During Conflict. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
http://www.mediate.com/articles/eisaguirreL3.cfm?nl=155

How to Combat Unconscious Bias as a Leader in Your Organization. (2014, December 11).
Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/how-combat-
unconscious-bias-leader-your-organization

What is Groupthink. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm

Nahavandi, A. (2005). The art and science of leadership. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education

D. (2014, July 14). Becoming a Leader: What Is Leadership? Retrieved February 21, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpNWDekfGog

Sinek, S. (n.d.). How great leaders inspire action. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

The Role of Psychology in Human Resources Management | Rasim | Europe's Journal of

Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from
http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/438/html

Johnson, C. E. (2012). Organizational ethics: A practical approach (3rd ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.