Leadership through Communication

In the process of working toward GLD through the Professional and Civic Engagement pathway I realized that Communication is an essential part of Professional Engagement as well as Civic Engagement. My third and last Key Insight will directly relate to both Professional and Civic Engagement. Effective communication is a key interpersonal skill that is necessary to build friendships, relationships, networks, and make connections in today’s society. When we effectively communicate, we can ensure everyone knows the end goal as well as how to achieve it. Effective communication can also eliminate transparency issues because if we’re up front and honest, it makes communication between parties easy.

While taking MGMT 250: Professional Communication, I learned a lot about communicating professionally with people like professors and other students as well as managers and coworkers. During this class we had numerous assignments such as the memo. A memo is letter from higher managers internally to employees. The memo that was analyzed was poorly written and we were assigned to edit it and make it acceptable to the class standards. Towards the latter part of the semester we were assigned a group project that was a travel guide for Laos. These assignments require critical thinking and collaboration which are both important parts of professional communication that I took with me from the course. This course also prepared me for MGMT 371: Principles of Management where I learned about the basic principles of management applicable to all forms of business and how to think about complex business situations.

Beyond the classroom, I’ve had the opportunity to improve my communication tremendously. During my junior and senior year, I went to both Business Expos. The business expo is a semi-annual event, only available to Moore School upperclassmen, master’s students and Alumni where they invite over 90 employers. The business expo gave me the opportunity to think quickly under pressure while still being precise, clear, and professional. Improving my communication skills and showing them at the Business Expo led to me securing an internship this semester at Collins Aerospace in Charlotte, NC. As a Supply Chain Management Intern, I exert my knowledge learned from my Supply Chain coursework, but I still have to effectively communicate to do so. Every day I interact with different people from different business units and it gives me the daily opportunity to improve my communication skills even further.

Another experience beyond the classroom where I have improved my communication skills is through my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. In my fraternity I served on the programming committee, membership committee, and as the Historian. It is often hard to communicate with other people who are very similar to me because I would consider myself as very strong willed and strongly opinionated. When everyone has the same end goal in mind but wants to go different routes to achieve them, it can be very difficult to communicate. I have improved these skills by improving my patience, often times coming to a compromise, and making sure that I completely listen to the others as well. I’ve also found that a huge part of effectively communicating is listening. Often times we can find ourselves feeling so strongly about what we have to say that we tune out what others are saying.

My beyond the classroom and within the classroom directly correlate in that my within the classroom experiences shaped me so that I would be more effectively able to communicate once I was done. I’ve used the within the classroom experiences at the Business Expo, on my internship, in the classroom, in my fraternity, and during my community involvement. I’m excited to see these skills transition into my post-graduation life as well. I have not yet decided whether I want to go straight into the workforce after graduation or to graduate school, but I know for sure that wherever I go I will be expected to use these effective communication skills.