Introducing Leadership Communication

1. Introducing Leadership Communication Lectures Based on Leadership Communication By Deborah J. Barrett, Ph.D.

2. Discussion Topics • Understanding the importance of communication • Projecting a positive leadership ethos • Defining leadership communication • Explaining the three skill levels • Establishing your own communication improvement plan

3. Communication Occupies a Manager’s Day Managers spend most of their time involved in communication: • CEOs average 36 written and 16 verbal contacts per day.* • Managers spend two-thirds to three-quarters of their time in verbal activity.* *Mintzberg, H. The Nature of Managerial Work, pp. 31, 38.

4. Communication Moves Organizations Without effective communication, nothing can happen in an organization: • “Communication and action within large and complex organizations . . . are inseparable.”* • “Without the right words, used in the right way, it is unlikely that the right actions will ever occur.”* *Eccles, R.G. & N. Nohria. Beyond the Hype: Discovering the Essence of Management, pp. 211, 209.

5. Leadership Depends on Communication “Effective leadership is still largely a matter of communication. . . . An effective leader thinks about what he says, carefully crafting each utterance of any significance.”* Effective leadership depends on effective communication. *Axelrod, A. Elizabeth I CEO: Strategic Lessons from the Leader Who Built an Empire, p. 55.

6. Context Message Sender Receiver Communication Seems Simple

7. Inappropriate context • No audience analysis • Muddled thinking • Wrong medium • Wrong spokesperson • Poor usage or style • Poor timing • Questionable ethics • Unclear message • Illogical structure • Poor formatting • Offensive tone • Cognitive dissonance • Cultural misconceptions • Negative ethos Interferences Often Prevent Successful Communication Message Sender Receiver

8. Persuasive Appeals • Ethos is . . . • The perceived character of the sender of a message • The most important persuasive appeal Ethos Pathos Logos Ethos is One of the Persuasive Appeals

9. The inner character: • Honest • Honorable • Truthful • Fair • Ethical A Positive Ethos A Positive Ethos Can be Created The outward manifestations: • Attractive • Charismatic • Expert • Possessing position or title

10. A Positive Ethos is Integral to Leadership Communication Leadership communication . . . • Is the controlled, purposeful transfer of meaning by which leaders influence a single person, a group, an organization, or a community. • Uses the full range of communication skills and resources to overcome interferences and to create and deliver messages that guide, direct, motivate, or inspire others to action.

11. Teams Internal Relations Emotional/ Cultural Literacy Meetings External Relations Leadership Communication Spirals Outward from Core to Managerial to Corporate Skills Corporate Managerial Core Strategy Writing Speaking

12. Mastering Leadership Communication Requires Achieving Several Objectives Learning to • Project a positive ethos in writing and speaking • Analyze audiences and target messages to them • Develop effective communication strategy for all situations • Select and use the most effective media to reach all audiences • Create well organized, coherent documents • Write clear, concise, correct business prose

13. Mastering Leadership Communication Requires Achieving Several Objectives (continued) Learning to • Deliver presentations with confidence • Display emotional intelligence and cultural literacy • Lead small groups productively, whether in teams and meetings • Develop a vision and internal messages that guide and motivate employees • Design and deliver external messages to reach stakeholders with positive and effective results.

14. The First Step Toward Leadership Communication is Improvement Planning • Assess your leadership communication skills • Use the self-assessment in Leadership Communication • Obtain input from others • Select your preferred leadership communication roles in your career • Determine your short-term and long-term leadership communication objectives • Outline a communication development plan that includes a list of specific actions

15. Having a Communication Development Plan (CDP) is Important • Provides a clear roadmap to reach defined personal communication improvement goals • Identifies targeted improvement areas for oral, written, and interpersonal skills • Establishes specific approaches to achieving goals in each area • Confirms the commitment to spending time on your specific communication skill needs

16. Suggested CDP Content • Current assessment: • List of strengths and weaknesses in written, oral, and interpersonal communications • Honest self-assessment with input from others • Communication improvement goals: • Very specific and measurable • With easier-to-reach and stretch goals

17. Suggested CDP Content (continued) • Improvement approach and timetable: • Clear and specific actions to reach each goal • Deadlines that ensure achieving goals by your established time period • Measurement: • Built in accountability measures • Specific methods for measuring your progress

18. Discussion Summary • Communication is important for managers and essential for leaders. • Effective leadership communication requires projecting a positive ethos. • Leadership communication can be defined and developed. • Leadership communication proficiency begins with core skills and expands outward to managerial and corporate. • A major component of leadership communication is an improvement plan.