What is communication?

Communication is the process of conveying information and meaning. True communication takes place only when all parties understand the message (information) from the same perspective (meaning). Leadership is about influencing others and building relationships, which are based on communications.  There is a positive relationship between communication competency and leadership performance. Two important parts of leadership communication are sending and receiving messages. When you want to send a message, what is the first, very important, step you should take?  Plan the Message. Before sending a message, you should plan it. There are a few questions to consider:

• What is the goal of the message?
• Who should receive the message? Have you included everyone who needs to receive your message?
• How will you send the message?
• When will the message be transmitted?
• Where will the message be transmitted?

Be careful not to talk too fast when sending oral messages over the phone or in person. It is helpful to follow these steps in the oral message-sending process:

• Develop rapport
• State your communication purpose
• Transit your message
• Check the receiver’s understanding
• Get a commitment and follow up

The second communication process that leaders are involved in is receiving messages. With oral communications, the key to successfully understanding the message is listening.

The three parts of message-receiving process includes

1. listening,
2. analyzing,
3. checking understanding

Coaching

Coaching is the process of giving motivational feedback to maintain and improve performance. Coaching is designed to maximize employee strengths and minimize weaknesses. Developing your coaching skills is an important part of your leadership development.

Some guidelines to be an effective coach:

1. Develop a Supportive Working Relationship
2. Give Praise and Recognition
3. Avoid Blame and Embarrassment
4. Focus on the Behavior, not the Person
5. Have Employees Assess Their Own Performance
6. Give Specific and Descriptive Feedback
7. Give Coaching Feedback
8. Provide Modeling and Training
9. Make Feedback Timely, but Flexible
10. Don’t Criticize

Steps in Coaching Model

The steps in the coaching model are

Step 1. Describe current performance.

Step 2. Describe desired performance.

Step 3. Get a commitment to the change.

Step 4. Follow up.

Conflict

A conflict exists whenever people are in disagreement and opposition. Conflict is inevitable because people don’t see things exactly the same way. An organization’s success is based on how well it deals with conflicts. Conflict management skills can be developed with appropriate training.

When you are in conflict, you have five conflict management styles to choose from. The five styles are based on two dimensions of concern: concern for others’ needs and concern for your own needs.

These concerns result in three types of behavior:

1. A low concern for your own needs and a high concern for others’ needs results in passive behavior.
2. A high concern for your own needs and a low concern for others’ needs results in aggressive behavior.
3. A moderate or high concern for your own needs and others’ needs results in assertive behavior.

Each conflict style of behavior results in a different combination of win-lose situations. The conflict style that you tend to use the most is based on your personality and leadership style. There is no one best conflict management style for all situations.

The five conflict management styles:

• The avoiding conflict style
• The accommodating conflict style
• The forcing conflict style
• The negotiating conflict style
• The collaborating conflict style