Running head: A Needed Change
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A Needed Change
Matthew W. Siler
Leadership Conflict Resolution
June 21, 2013
Dr. William McConkey
Southwestern College Professional Studies
Running head: A Needed Change
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A Needed Change
Leadership requires that individuals have the ability to communicate effectively
regardless of the medium of which communication takes place. From formal presentations to
social networking, a leader must be able to listen and motivate others to action. Many of the
conflicts that take place in the working environment deal with a failure to communicate. In order
to improve communication techniques, a leader must gain knowledge and understanding of
effective communication techniques. To apply those techniques, a leader must be able to assess
their own strengths and weaknesses. Once an individual has been placed in a leadership role, or
wants to obtain a leadership position and has gauged their own ability, they can then plan on how
to improve their skill set to become a more effective leader. The most important aspect of
communication is not to simply express ones ideas and feeling to others, but to have the ability to
understand the communication from others. There is a plethora of knowledge and theories that
aspiring leaders can use to make improvements to the way they communicate.
Espoused Theories
Making judgments on another’s ability to lead may seem to be an easier task than
addressing one’s own ability to lead others. Being self-aware is “knowing your motivations,
preferences, and personality and understanding how these factors influence your judgment,
decisions, and interactions with other people” (DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012 p.5). A
leader should be open minded, and be able to receive communication without internal negative
biases. These biases occur naturally in everyone. From the time we are born we are being
influenced by family, community, and society. Most of what we learn is beneficial and aids us
though life, but we must learn to filter the good from the bad. Many times people fall in the habit
of stereotyping others. Although this is a quick way to sort out information, it is not an accurate
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approach to gain understanding (DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012). An effective
communicator should be able to first take in the information, and then form an opinion (not the
other way around). The perception that we have on the outside world is an important way that
we sort incoming information. If an individual has failed us numerous times in the past, our
perception of that individual will be low. Equally important is to understand how others perceive
us as an individual. A leader should strive to be perceived in positive light. Being able to
understand our own perception allows an individual to make needed changes (DeJanasz, Dowd
& Schneider, 2012). Overall a leader should try to gain an understanding of others. Being able
to mentally put yourself in others shoes will allow for a leader to better connect with those that he
or she leads.
The act of communicating should be a two way street of both speaking and listening.
Hence Mark Twain remarked, “There is a reason why God gave us two ears and one mouth”
(DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012 p.127). Effective listening is much greater than just
hearing the words that someone is speaking. It has been shown that the majority of
communication is not from spoken word, but from non-verbal communication. Facial
expressions, tone of voice, and body language all play a major role in the message being sent.
Active listening sends a message to the speaker that you care about what they are saying. The
relationship of listening to speaking for a good active listener should be approximately 70
percent listening and 30 percent speaking (DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012). Being a skilled
listener also allows for improvements in personal and professional relationships.
Being able to effectively communicate a message is much more than choosing the correct
words. Understanding the importance of the medium used to communicate and the non-verbal
messages that are being sent out play a significant role in what the listener(s) are receiving. Oral
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communication is beneficial when a group needs to come to a consensus, and allows for
questions to be asked and answered quickly. The drawback of oral communication is that
individuals have less time to reflect on the message that they are sending. Many people have had
that moment in a conversation that they said something that they wish they could take back. A
good communicator takes the time to think about the words they are going to say before they
leave their lips. Written communication is beneficial for allowing a direct message to be sent
out. Something to keep in mind with written communication is that it creates an instant record of
a conversation. When sending messages via email or any other electronic medium it is extremely
important to realize that this message could be sent out companywide in a split second. Overall a
good communicator does much more than just focuses on the words being used, but focuses on
how the words will be perceived.
Communications within leadership roles are far more complex than communication
between peers. A leader is not just communicating for themselves, but for an entire group. That
group can be small, or it can be for an entire company. The benefits and repercussions for the
leader are much greater. A leader must be able to send a clear message to those he leads while
considering the direction and vision of the group. A leader must be able to represent the needs of
the group, while still moving them towards a common goal. A leader’s communication can
allow them to be transactional, or transformational. For a leader to be transformational they must
be charismatic through their communication. A charismatic leader can do much more than
simply communicate a message. They have the ability to motivate others to action by changing
the group’s emotional feelings about a subject (Humphreys, 2002). A transactional leader can be
thought of as an individual that has the ability to effectively pass on a message, and motivates by
rewards and consequences (Humphreys, 2002). Communication within leadership also deals a
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great deal with conflict resolution. Leaders must be able to effectively address conflict, and
understand strategies that will make conflict resolution possible. Collaboration should be the
goal for most conflict resolutions, but a leader must be able to adapt different strategies
depending on the conflict (Griffith & Goodwin, 2012). When a leader is acting as a mediator, he
must find a way to be neutral on the subject. Depending on the conflict he must be able to not
only communicate effectively as a mediator, but be able to gain understanding into the needs of
the parties to better communicate the issues at hand to gain effective resolution. The bottom line
is a leader must be able to act as the example, motivate others, and gain understanding for the
group that he or she leads.
Theories-In-Use
As a student of leadership I have been instructed on how a leader should communicate,
but I have many areas that need improvement. Focusing on intrapersonal communication, I
recognize that I fail to take into account how my personal feelings effect my overall reaction to
situations. Projection is a personal point of weakness. I assume that if I am unable to understand
or complete a task that others will also fail. I realize that this bias is foolish, but in the midst of a
conflict it is hard to escape the feeling. Keeping emotionally clear headed is my largest struggle.
Walking into meetings knowing it may have a negative message, I quickly build up defensive
walls. I lose out on the message being sent because I am too busy mentally making excuses for
what occurred than trying to gain understanding of what I can do to improve. I must learn to
better balance my emotional feelings to gain a clearer perception.
Interpersonal communication I recognize both strengths and weaknesses. When
communication is one-on-one I am able to clearly communicate thoughts, feelings, and
objectives. I listen closely, and pay attention to non-verbal cues. This has been beneficial in
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interviews, and giving personal instructions to others. My areas of improvement deal with group
settings, and presentations. When I am not a direct participant in the conversation I become
easily distracted and engage in partial listening. I hear the words being said, but fail to pay
attention to the non-verbal messages being sent (DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012). As the
speaker in a group setting I fail to adjust for the audience. I create the presentations mainly for
new members, but when I am dealing with more seasoned individuals I fail to adjust my lesson
plan. The end result is the audience becomes bored and easily distracted. Written
communication is an area that needs a great deal of attention. My overall writing ability is poor,
and the message gets lost in grammatical errors. This not only makes it hard for the reader to
understand the message, but gives the perception that the information is incorrect.
Consequentially, the readers overall perception of me is lowered. When dealing with members
that are supposed to be receiving training from me, this becomes detrimental to our relationship.
Communication within leadership is an area that I have limited experience. I am just now
reaching the point of receiving minor leadership roles. These roles are usually as simple as
leading a group in a small project, or conducting training for new members. My strongest
attributes as a leader is not only caring about the task at hand, but making individuals feel that I
care equally about their needs. Although I have dealt with little conflict as a leader, I still
recognize my tendency to try to avoid conflicts instead of trying to find resolution for them. As a
future leader I must focus on being the example. Much like dressing for the job you want, not
the job you have, I need to start behaving like a leader to become one. Although I do not hold a
leadership position, new members still observe what I do and I must focus on being a positive
example to them. My end goal is to become a transformational leader. Having the ability to
motivate others to action is a rare ability that I believe I can achieve. I look forward to being able
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to make positive contributions to not only an employer, but to create positive change in others’
lives. To reach this point, I will have to make several personal changes.
Plan of Improvement
In each area of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and leadership communication there are
changes that need to be addressed to improve. It is not a simple process to change the way that
we mentally perceive the word around us. Most of these habits and feelings have been developed
over a lifetime of experience. The plan that I feel will have the most beneficial outcomes in
regards to intrapersonal communication is to frequently conduct a self-analysis. By gaining an
understanding of how my behavior and feelings have affected past situations I should be able to
better address situations moving forward (DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012). I recognize that
emotions are an inevitable part of everyday life, but being able to realize either the positive or
negative outcomes of the emotion should help re-program my way of thinking. To resolve my
issue with projection I feel the solution is to simply judge others based off of their performance
and not my own. The end goal is to communicate with a clear head, and not let emotions cloud
my judgment.
In the area of interpersonal communication there are two main areas that are separate how
I know I should perform, and what I actually do. The first area is how I handle group
presentations. As a listener I need to focus on the presenter, and show them the same respect that
I would expect to receive. Taking notes and writing questions down for the end of the
presentation will be a useful technique to not only stay engaged, but to try to gain a better
understanding of the topic. As the presenter I need to consider my audience by focusing on the
values and backgrounds of the individuals. I will also pay close attention to the non-verbal cues
of the audience and make changes to style to try to keep the group engaged. With written
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communication I currently and will continually focus on my personal education to improve my
writing skills. I understand that to become an effective communicator I must increase my
capability to communicate through written and electronic means. These skills will become ever
more important as leadership roles and responsibility increase.
Great leaders are also great communicators that have the ability to motivate others to
actions by communicating a clear vision. The improvements that I must take on as a leader deal
with being able to handle conflict more effectively and focusing my everyday life on making the
transformation to leadership roles. When dealing with conflict I will address the root cause,
examine options, evaluate the options, and make a decision that will provide the most benefit
(DeJanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2012). By taking a step-by-step approach, all parties involved
will be considered. My end goal of leadership communication is to help me towards becoming a
transformational leader, starting with leading by example. A transformational leader has the
ability to communicate in way that inspires others; therefore I must use communication to enrich
the lives of those around me (Aronson, 2001).
Conclusion
The differences from how I should communicate and how I actually communicate may
seem expansive, but I feel these issues overall boil down to many small details that have the
potential to cause issues on my path to a leadership position. Although my emotions are the
cause of some negative attributes to my overall communication, I also feel that they are what will
allow me to become a good leader. I treat people with respect, and find that I have the ability to
understand their emotional needs. Improvement of my communication skills will allow me to
close the gap on becoming an effective leader. I understand a majority of the time leaders
operate in a transactional function, but I feel that a leader who has the ability to be an excellent
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communicator has the potential to be transformational when needed. I say that this is my goal
because I want to make a difference beyond being an employer. I hope that people can trust that I
am acting on their behalf, and hope to bring enrichment to their lives.
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References
Aronson, E. (2001). Intergrating leadership styles and ethical perspectives. Canadian Journal of
Administrative Sciences, 18(4), 244-246.
DeJanasz S. D ,Dowd, K., & Schneider, B. (2012). Interpersonal skills in organizations.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Griffith, D., & Goodwin, C. (2012). Conflict survival kit: Tools for resolving conflict at work
(2nd ed.). New Jersey: tice Hall.
Humphreys, J. (2002). Transformational and transactional leader behavior. 1(3),