Here is a post which I just wrote for one of my classes. It’s a little different in format due to the endnotes, but I believe it will be a good lesson in leadership communication skills. Enjoy!
Let’s Be Clear! (That is, if we want to be effective leaders!)
The gospels of Matthew and Luke refer to the “winnowing fork,”[1] which is a tool used to separate the wheat from the chaff. This, of course, is done because the chaff is inedible and to try to eat it would be an awful experience and of no nutritional value. It is the same with the communication skills of a leader: all too often messages get lost in the chaff of redundant instructions, overembellished minutia, and sometimes self-serving pontification instead of a simple comment – much like this sentence! Hackman and Johnson state, “The higher the level of leadership, the higher the demand for communication competence,”[2] and business communication expert Jack Appleman simply says, “You are what you write.”[3] Leaders have the responsibility to be clear about vision, direction, assignment of tasks, and the evaluation of a completed job. However, if the communication is unclear, followers may hear an entirely different interpretation of what the leader is trying to say and take action which will ultimately fail to accomplish what the leader had intended. Tension arises, time is lost, and in a worst case scenario, relationships are harmed because leaders and followers are not on the same page, maybe even leading to a severance of the working relationship. Both the leader and follower have responsibility in the communication process, but it starts with the leader, who must understand that, as Carton, Murphy & Clark pointed out in a 2015 article, clear communication “is the most central of all leader behaviors.”[4] Without it, the effectiveness of a leader is compromised and of no better use than wheat mixed with chaff.
According to Geertshuis, Morrison & Cooper-Thomas, strong relationships in organizations are dependent on the quality and nature of the communication between parties.[5] People must be free and safe to talk openly, regardless of the topic or the intensity of feelings attached.[6] To help do this, clarity is a key skill to be learned and employed. Each party must make the necessary effort to be clear on what they want the other to understand. Hackman and Johnson refer to this as communicating in a manner which creates a “shared reality between the message source and the receiver.”[7] To achieve clarity, Appleman recommends that people “get to the point immediately,”[8] while Susan Campbell, Ph.D., in her book, Saying What’s Real, simply states, “Be specific!”[9] Even the words of Thomas Jefferson, one of the most respected communicators in American history, are relevant. He said, “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”[10]
Let’s be clear. For leaders to be effective and avoid pitfalls plaguing the 21st century workforce, such as a decreased level of team member engagement and commitment,[11] their communication skills must be similar to the biblical farmer with the winnowing fork – able to expertly separate that which is nourishing from what must be thrown away.
Endnotes
[1] Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17, English Standard Version
[2] Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2013). Leadership: A communication perspective (6th ed.). (p. 21). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
[3] Appleman, J. E. (2008). 10 Steps to Successful Business Writing. (p. 10). Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.
[4] Carton, A. M., Murphy, C., & Clark, J. R. (2015). A (BLURRY) VISION OF THE FUTURE: HOW LEADER RHETORIC ABOUT ULTIMATE GOALS INFLUENCES PERFORMANCE. Academy of Management Journal, 1015(1), 10-36. doi: 10.5465/amj.2012.0101
[5] Geertshuis, S. A., Morrison, R. L., & Cooper-Thomas, H. D. (2015). It’s Not What You Say, It’s The Way That You Say It: The Mediating Effect of Upward Influencing Communications on the Relationship Between Leader-Member Exchange and Performance Ratings. Journal of Business Communication, 52(2), 228-245. doi: 10.1177/2329488415572784
[6] Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2002). Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high. (p. 9). New York: McGraw-Hill.
[7] Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2013). Leadership: A communication perspective (6th ed.). (p. 6). Long Grove, IL:
Waveland Press, Inc.
[8] Appleman, J. E. (2008). 10 Steps to Successful Business Writing. (p. 35). Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.
[9] Campbell, S. (2005). Saying What’s Real: 7 Keys to authentic communication and relationship success. (p. 24). Novato, CA: H. J. Kramer.
[10] As cited by Appleman, J. E. (2008). 10 Steps to Successful Business Writing. (p. 30). Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.
[11] Mayfield, J., Mayfield, M., & Sharbrough, W. C. (2015). Strategic Vision and Values in Top Leaders’ Communications: Motivating Language at a Higher Level. Journal of Business Communication, 52(1), 97-121. doi: 10.1177/2329488414560282