Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Transformational Leadership
Through Effective Internal
Communication
Lectures Based on
Leadership Communication, 4th edition
By Deborah J. Barrett, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Discussion Topics
 Selecting an appropriate leadership style
and communication approach
 Recognizing the strategic and cultural role
of employee communication
 Using visions and missions to strengthen
internal communication
 Designing an effective change
communication program
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Leaders Should Select Their
Styles Carefully
Highly
positive
Highly
negative
Source: Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee. (2002). Primal Leadership: Realizing the
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Power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Different Leadership Styles
Should Be Used Appropriately
Style
Visionary
Coaching
Affiliative
Democratic
Pacesetting
Commanding
How builds resonance When appropriate
Moves people toward
When changes require a new
shared goals and dreams vision or a new direction is
needed
Connects a person’s
To help an employee improve
wants with the
performance by building longorganization’s goals
term capabilities
Creates harmony by
To heal rifts in a team,
connecting people to
motivate during stressful
each other
times, or strengthen
connections
Values people’s input
To build buy-in or consensus,
and gets commitment
or to get valuable input from
through participation
employees
Meets challenging and
To get high-quality results
exciting goals
from a motivated and
competent team
Soothes fears by giving In a crisis, to kick-start a turnclear direction in an
around, or problem employees
emergency
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Transformational Leaders are Mostly
Visionary and Affiliative
 Transformation leaders
 Emphasize new possibilities
 Promote a compelling vision
 Connect with others individually and in groups
 They depend on the following when
communicating with internal audiences:
 Authenticity and credibility (a positive ethos)
 Emotional intelligence
 Mentoring and coaching abilities
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
The Objectives of Effective
Employee Communication
 Educate employees in the organization’s
culture, vision, and strategic goals
 Motivate support for organization’s goals
 Encourage higher performance and
discretionary effort
 Limit misunderstandings that may damage
productivity
 Align employees behind organization’s
performance objectives and position them
to help achieve them
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Strategic Employee
Communication Model
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Best Practice Definition of
Model Components
Component
Best Practice Definition
Strategic
objectives
 Communications used to reinforce strategic
objectives and to ensure employees
understand new direction
Supportive
management
 Top-level management involved in and
actively assuming responsibility for
communications
Targeted
messages
 Targeted, consistent, frequently repeated
messages designed to clarify company
vision, strategy, and direction
Effective
media/Forums
 More emphasis placed on informal, face-toface communications than on formal vehicles
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Best Practice Definition of Model
Components (continued)
Component
Best Practice Definition
Wellpositioned
staff
 Employees positioned strategically and
deployed as change agents
On-going
assessment
 Change communication success measured
frequently against clearly defined goals;
communication effectiveness included in
individual performance appraisals
Integrated
processes
 Change communications integrated into
business processes with communication
milestones included in business plan
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Establishing and Using
Missions and Visions
 What are missions and visions?
 Why should you use them?
 When are they most effective?
 How do you build one?
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
What is a Mission Statement?
 The mission is why a company exists.
 An effective mission does the following:
 Defines a company’s basic business
 Ensures employees are pointed in the same
direction
 Establishes a single, noble purpose and an
enduring reality
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
What is a Vision?
 The vision is what the organization wants
to become.
 An effective vision does the following:
 Reflects the leaders’ willingness to project
into the future
 Expresses aspirations
 Describes an inspiring new reality,
achievable in a reasonable timeframe
 Guides internal actions
 Usually starts with the words “to become”
or “to create”
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Why Use Mission and Vision Statements?
 Establish a firm foundation of goals,
standards, and objectives to guide corporate
planners and managers
 Satisfy both company’s need for efficiency
and employees’ need for group identity
 Inspire individual action, determine behavior,
and fuel motivation
 Provide direction to keep everyone moving in
the same direction
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Approaches to Building an
Effective Mission and Vision
Build the mission and vision from the inside
out, using one of the following approaches:
 CEO/leader developed
 Leader-senior team visioning
 Bottom-up visioning
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Steps in Building an Effective
Mission and Vision
1. Create the initial draft
 Of the mission by
 Defining what the organization does
 Identifying the core products or services
 Determining its value proposition
 Of the vision by
 Deciding what the organization wants or
can become
 Establishing the critical success factors
in the marketplace
 Identifying strengths and weaknesses
 Clarifying the opportunities and threats
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Steps in Building an Effective Mission
and Vision (continued)
2. Clarify the meaning
3. Tell the world in 25 words or less what you
are and want to become
4. Develop the strategic objectives to make the
vision specific and actionable
5. Create a “final” version and hold meetings
with employees to test it
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Relationship of Mission and Vision to
Strategic Objectives
The Future
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
What are Strategic Objectives?
 Strategic objectives help to make a vision
more meaningful and actionable
 They should be
 Specific actions designed to help
accomplish the vision and bring sustainable
competitive advantage
 Longer-term measurable targets, usually
divided into two categories:
 Quantitative goals
 Qualitative goals
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Levels of Change
Communication Effort
Level 3: Major
Level 2: Strategic
Level 1: Basic
Targeted,
strategic
messages,
mostly onedirectional,
with periodic
assessment
Strategic
messages, using
all vehicles but
relying primarily
on interactive
meetings with
periodic program
and performance
assessment
All of strategic
program plus
employee workshops to redefine
work habits and
change employee
behavior at all
levels with frequent
program and
performance
feedback and
assessment
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Essential Change Communication Steps
Form a cross-functional, multilevel communication team
Assess current employee communication
practices against best practices
Target gaps in communication
for immediate improvement
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Essential Change Communication Steps
(continued)
Develop a vision and strategic
objectives if needed
Conduct cascading vision,
strategy, job redefinition
workshops
Monitor the results and make
adjustments if find communication
breakdowns
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Leadership Communication, 4th edition by Deborah J. Barrett
Discussion Summary
 Leaders need to use their knowledge and
understanding of the people they lead to select the
best leadership and communication style to use
 Effective internal communication holds an
organization together and allows it to function
effectively and efficiently
 Effective internal communication requires leaders
to ensure all important messages, such as
missions, visions, and strategic objectives, are
understood by all employees
 To succeed, any major change program must be
supported by change communication
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