5: Communication

If you've taken Psychology of Leadership, you already know how incredibly important communication is and that we consider it a skill which can only be improved through self awareness. It's particularly important in leaders and the process of leadership (Padilla & Lunsford, 2013). For our purposes over the next several lessons, I want you to view leaders as people who are making decisions on behalf of a team or group.

Followers are everyone else in the affected group that gives at least limited deference to the decision maker. This broad definition can encompass small and well defined groups such as sports teams as well as large groups like major corporations... Leaders simply do not happen if others fail to follow them. Good leadership can be undone by bad followership and good followership is useless without good leadership (Kellerman, 2005).

OB Related Facts About Communication

• Communication is a skill that may greatly affect a leader's influence on others (Walker, 2014).

• Everyone can improve their communication skills - it just takes practice (Pinola, 2014).

• Effective listening is probably the single most important element of good communication and leadership (Williams, 2004).

• Individuals who can demonstrate higher levels of these 'soft skills' are usually promoted more often and may have an easier time finding a job (Beeson, 2009).

• Companies that use good communication tend to have less turnover and less absenteeism (Saylor Academy, 2012).

Start Your Self-Analysis

Your first Action Plan (which focuses on you in a team) will be due soon. Now is the time to start considering what self assessments you want to complete that you think are most important to understanding how you function as a member of a team. You need to have completed at least 5 assessments for your report. Here are some options:

• Scientifically valid scales I have made available to you on the Student Support site.

  • For example: Emotional intelligence can be improved over time, unlike IQ, which stays stable throughout life. Emotional intelligence includes knowing and managing your emotions, motivating yourself, recognizing and understanding other people’s emotions, and managing relationships. This could easily be considered relevant for your teamwork abilities.

• Tests on MindTools, such as Listening Skills or other related tests (but be wary of those that likely have no scientific basis - they're a waste of your time)

• Any tests available in your textbook or in other Organizational Leadership or Psychology courses (again be careful of those that are just well known vs. actually scientifically valid, for your own sake)

And start to think about what actions you will plan to take...

Here's a great example of how to do this from Ramit Sethi, Entrepreneur - While his work started with a strong focus on personal finance, he also has a deep interest in Psychology and in Behavior Design (one of his mentors is the brilliant Dr. B. J. Fogg out of Stanford). He writes and speaks directly (to the point that you may not like him actually) but he does the research to be sure what he's saying and advising is based on science.

You can also watch his short video on this concept and note what you can do in your own life to work on these skills. These same ideas of practice can be applied to all types of communication - email, memos, etc. You may become a more effective communicator across all types of communication through deliberate practice and testing methods to see what works. (In fact, Ramit Sethi has a lot of information about effective emails and communication.)