Chapter 9
Leadership Communication
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Communication
•A process by which information
and understanding are transferred
between a sender and a receiver
•The evoking of a shared or
common meaning in another
person
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Ex. 9.1 A Basic Model of the
Communication Process
Potential noise and distortion
Leader encodes
message
Channel
Receiver decodes
message
Return message encoded and sent
Feedback Loop
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Ex. 9.2 The Leader as Communication
Champion
Purpose Directed
Internal and
external
sources
Strategic
Conversation
Open climate
Listening
Discernment
Dialogue
Leader
as
Communication
Champion
Direct attention to
vision/values, desired
outcomes; use
persuasion
Methods
Use rich channels
Stories and metaphors
Informal
communication
Communication Champion: believes that communication is essential to
building trust and gaining commitment to vision
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Ex. 9.3 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
1b: You get what you pay attention to and reward

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 a
Reflection 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.
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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
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Ex. 9.4 (contd.)
Keys
Poor Listener
Good Listener
6. Judge content, not
delivery (or style)
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
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Discernment


Listening to detect unarticulated messages
hidden below the surface of spoken
interaction
Action memo: focus your total attention on
what the other person is saying. Work hard
to listen – use eye contact; ask questions and
paraphrase the message; and offer positive
feedback. Pay attention to body language,
patterns of interaction, and other clues to
discern what followers really think, feel, or
want.
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Ex. 9.5 Dialogue and Discussion: The Differences
Conversation
Lack of understanding,
disagreement, divergent points of
view, evaluate others
Dialogue
Reveal feelings
Explore assumptions
Suspend convictions
Build common ground
Result
Long-term, innovative
solutions
Unified group
Shared meaning
Transformed mind-sets
Discussion
ONLY way
to change
mental
models
State positions
Advocate convictions
Convince others
Build oppositions
Result
Short-term resolution
Agreement by logic
Opposition beaten
down
Mind-sets held onto
The leader as communication champion




Establish credibility
Build goals on common ground
Make your position compelling to others
Connect emotionally
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•Strong relationships are built on mutual
understanding. Leadership is a dialogue,
not a monologue
•Dialogue requires listening to others
and sharing of yourself
•Personal credibility: DWYSYWD – do
what you say you will do
•Necessary but not sufficient. Even a
despot can have this.
•Leadership credibility: DWWSWWD –
do what we say we will do
Credibility (cont.)
Forgetting the we has derailed many
managers. Their actions may have
been consistent only with their own
wishes, not with those of the people
they wanted to lead. When
managers resort to the use of power
and position, to compliance and
command to get things done, they
are not leading, they are dictating.
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Credibility (cont.)
“The true test of moral legitimacy is
grounded in conscious choice among real
alternatives. One way to recognize
moral leaders and to guard against
immoral ones is to observe if they engage
in learning the true needs and values of
their constituents. If they are more intent
on telling than on listening, it is likely that
they are up to no good.” (James
MacGregor Burns, 1978)
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Ex. 9.6 A Continuum of Channel
Richness
Electronic
mail, IM,
Web, intranet
Disadvantages
Impersonal
One-way
Slow feedback
Formal report
Face-toface verbal
Advantages
Personal
Two-way
Fast feedback
High
channel
richness
Disadvantages
No record
Spontaneous
Dissemination
hard
Low
channel
richness
Advantages
Provides record
Premeditated
Easily
disseminated
Memos,
letters
Telephone
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Ex. 9.7 Dos and Don’ts of Electronic Mail
(abridged)
Do





Use e-mail to set up meetings, to recap spoken conversations, or
to follow up on information already discussed face-to-face.
Keep e-mail messages short and to-the-point. Many people read
e-mail on handheld devices, which have small screens.
Use e-mail to prepare a group of people for a meeting. For
example, it is convenient to send the same documents to a
number of people and ask them to review the materials before
the meeting.
Use e-mail to transmit standard reports.
Act like a newspaper reporter. Use the subject line to quickly
grab the reader’s attention.
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Ex. 9.7 (contd.)
Don’t
 Use e-mail to discuss something with a colleague who sits across
the aisle or down the hall from you. Take the old-fashioned
approach of speaking to each other.
 Lambaste a friend or colleague via e-mail – and especially don’t
copy others on the message.
 Use e-mail to start or perpetuate a feud.
 Write anything in an e-mail you wouldn’t want published in a
newspaper. E-mail with sensitive or potentially embarrassing
information has an uncanny way of leaking out.
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Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication - all elements of
communication that do not involve words
Four basic types




Proxemics - an individual’s perception & use of space
Kinesics - study of body movements, including posture
Facial & Eye Behavior - movements that add cues for
the receiver
Paralanguage - variations in speech, such as pitch,
loudness, tempo, tone, duration, laughing, & crying
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Proxemics: Seating Dynamics
Seating Dynamics - seating people in certain
positions according to the person’s purpose in
communication
X O
Cooperation
X
O Communication
X
O X O
Competition
NonCommunication
O
Examples of Decoding Nonverbal Cues
He’s
unapproachable!
Boss fails to acknowledge
employee’s greeting
I wonder what
he’s hiding?
No eye contact
while
communicating
He’s angry! I’ll
stay out of
his way!
Boss breathes
heavily &
waves arms
My opinion
doesn’t count
Manager sighs deeply
Communicating concerns about performance



Why? The purpose is to improve
performance of the employee. Watch your
motives.
What? Behaviors. Find good ones first,
then focus on behavior not meeting
standards. Make sure they (and you)
understand why their behavior does not
meet standards and how to correct it.
How do you arrange the meeting? Sends
a message before the actual counseling session.
In person, e-mail, letter, secretary?
Communicating concerns about performance




Where? Your place or theirs? Power symbols (e.g.
seating) depend on severity of problem and if
punishment is involved.
When? As close to the discrepancy as possible.
Time of day considerations?
How do you express your concerns? In
person? Written? (memo, e-mail, letter, note).
Consider speaking to them in person and
follow-up in writing.
What next? Your behavior following counseling is
key. Need to establish normal relations, follow-up
but still be supportive. Build efficacy. Remember
procedural justice – everyone is watching you.