Leadership Lessons- Part V: Communication

(Originally Published 24 July 2009)

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing."- Rollo May

I have received a few comments about this series of posts from those few who follow my ramblings, and thus far, they have been positive, so I will continue on today with Part V of this series (there will be four more after this one, and a possible wrap-up of the entire series.) Thanks to my readers for their support and encouragement.

Before going into today's subject, I will briefly go over the first four characteristics of leadership:

1. Focus- the ability to concentrate on the task at hand in order to complete it successfully,


2. Urgency- the ability to complete the task at hand purposefully, diligently, and with the utmost patience,


3. Initiative- The power or ability to begin or to follow through with a plan or task enrgetically and with determination, and


4. Competence- The state or quality of being adequately or well qualified to perform a given task.

Today, I will discuss communication. Communication is a key element in leadership, as without it, nothing would be accomplished. However, communication is never effective without understanding, and failed attempts at communication often lead to dangerous situations. Also, despite the varied means of communication that are at our disposal, there are certain circumstances in which the only effective means of communication is vi a face-to-face encounter. Following are a few guidelines for effective communication:

• All things considered, effective communication is the single most important element in resolving any crisis situation. Inversely, it is also the single most important factor in preventing a crisis situation from happening.


• An effective communicator doesn't always necessarily have to agree with other people. However, tolerating another's differences and diversity of opinion is important.


• The first battle of most hostile encounters almost always starts just as the communication process is ending. Inversely, the last battle ends only after communication between the opposing parties resumes.


• Silence is not always golden, but powerful messages can be conveyed without speaking a single word. Sometimes what is not spoken is more important than what is actually said.


• When one judges another solely by body language, gestures, vocal intonation, and facial expressions, it often leads to misinterpretation- not only where people of different racial or cultural backgrounds or different ideologies are concerned, but also when interacting with people from one's own culture or background who share the same ideology. Therefore, it is of extreme importance that one's non-verbal expression should not cause another to misinterpret what one is trying to say.


• When one is having difficulty in expressing his thoughts, feelings, opinions, or ideas, it is important to remain patient in order to gain understanding.


• If one person fails to listen to what another person is trying to convey, that person will often fail to properly respond to what has been said.


• If nothing else, you gain more knowledge by listening when another person has very little to say.


• Effective communication does not always end in agreement between people. This is true, as some of the most effective communications simply end with the opposing parties arriving at the reason(s) why they disagree with each other.


• Interrupting another while they are in mid-sentence is generally considered to be rude. However, sometimes doing so can be the smartest and kindest thing you can do to them at that moment.


• The use of some forms of advanced technology (ie. telephone, email, etc.) inherently separates the emotion from the communication. However, no technology is capable of removing the harmful effects of what has been improperly said.

In conclusion,

• Always remember that, no matter how a message is delivered or recieved, the way in which you communicate must permit the messages to be understood.

Effective communiction is the lubricant of effective leadership, and one can never become an effective leader without being understood, or without understanding others.

(Next: Lesson VI- Politics)