A Blog about Leadership

There is a strong relationship between leadership and communication. The first thought that comes to mind is the charismatic leader on a podium to present a grandiose vision with oratorical flare, but that’s not exactly what I’m writing about.

Communication is fundamental to our existence. We communicate every day and in many ways. We talk with our family over breakfast cereal, chat with our friends on our cell phones, and we converse with colleges around the coffee pot. We also email, blog, and write reports. We communicate with the written and spoken word.

To take our communication to another depth, we also communicate non-verbally, through our body language—our gestures, posture, and proximity.

Leaders communicate. Leaders not only communicate clearly, but, more importantly, communicate effectively. Leaders understand the different dynamics of communication and use the full spectrum to effectively communicate their vision, direction, and guidance.

It is one thing for a leader’s message to be heard, another for the message to be understood, and finally, yet another for the message to be acted upon.

The first dynamic:

I remember a college English professor who had the worst public speaking skills of any teacher that I have ever been in class with. I really thought it was quite ironic, but nearly half of every class I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He spoke softly to start with, but additionally, he would look away from the class. There is no communication without hearing or seeing.

The second dynamic:

I’m reminiscent of days in school today. It’s been nearly a decade, but I vividly remember a trigonometry class where my high school teacher was explaining something about signs. I heard the words coming from her mouth and I grasped the terms—sine, cosine, and tangent, but I didn’t understand. Of course, in hindsight, I probably would have understood if I had read the assignment before class, but academics weren’t my top priority during homecoming week! Nonetheless, there is no communication without understanding and comprehension.

The third dynamic:

No school analogy this time. We can all think of that manager who always complains about TPS reports, this procedure, or that method, etc. Often the failure to complete a task is not the result of failing to know and understand, but rather a willful disregard. I heard it said once that employees will do two things well: what they think is important and what the boss thinks is important and will check. Perhaps the effectiveness of communicating procedures and process is through checking the control mechanisms. Or perhaps, a leader will effectively communicate by harnessing the full spectrum of communication and the control mechanisms will merely be a quality system.

Leaders communicate. Leaders not only communicate clearly, but, more importantly, communicate effectively though understanding and harnessing the dynamics of communication.

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