Leadership and communication

Seminar 2
Understanding Communications:
A Key to Effective Leadership
Lori Sundal
Georgia Institute of Technology
A seminar sponsored by EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference
June 2, 2008
Jacksonville, Florida

Understanding Communications:
A Key to Effective Leadership
Copyright Lori Sundal, 2008. This work is the intellectual
property of the author. Permission is granted for this
material to be shared for non-commercial, educational
purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on
the reproduced materials and notice is given that the
copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate
otherwise or to republish requires written permission from
the author.

Understanding Communications: A Key to Effective Leadership
Agenda
•Introductions
•Communications – Definition
•Communication Channels and Types
•Effective Communications
•Communication Styles
•Active Listening
•Summary and Wrap-Up
Breaks each hour and from 10 – 10:15

Introductions
Exercise:
Partner with your neighbor:
Tell your partner something about yourself – unusual,
hobby, goals, or just something you enjoy. Describe it fully.
Then switch and repeat.
Share with all participants.

Introductions
Exercise:
Each table will come up with a their definition of
communication.
Then, we’ll take the elements from all tables and we will
develop our common definition as a group.

Communications Definition
The exchange of ideas, messages, or
information, as by speech, signals, or
writing.
Webster’s Dictionary
The art of passing information and ideas
from one person to another.
Successful Communication – Ken Lawson,
M.A., Ed.M.

As leaders, we communicate to:
• Get things done
• Pass on information
• Obtain information
• Reach decisions
• Achieve understanding between individuals
• Develop relationships

Sender
Receiver
Blah,
blah,
blah
Message >>>>> Method >>>>>>
<<<<<<<< Feedback <<<<<<<<<<<

Communication Definition
Role of the Sender
–Sender has clarity about the message and how it should be
communicated.
•Meaning is clear
•Understand your audience
•Message is believable
•Solicit feedback
Role of the Receiver
–Receiver is attentive and “truly listening”
•Hears the words
•Interprets what is said and not said
•Provides feedback for clarification

It takes two to speak the truth, one to
speak, and the other to hear.
Henry David Thoreau

KEY 1 –
“It Takes Two”
Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston
Understand your
role as a sender and
a receiver

Jot down one thing you
learned in this section.
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Communication Types and Channels
Channel – medium chosen by the sender to deliver
a message
•Direct Channels: Obvious and easily recognized,
under direct control of the sender
– Verbal: words, spoken or written
– Non-verbal: body language, gestures, color,
sound

•Indirect Channels: usually recognized subliminally,
not under direct control of the sender
– Non-verbal: body language, gestures, facial
expressions, etc.
High risk of being misinterpreted!

Understanding the Meaning of Communication
7%
38%55%
Words
Tone
Body Language

Verbal Communications
•Spoken word – speed and convenience, (face
to face - either 1 on 1 or group, phone,
interviews, meetings)
– Face to face is strongest means for building
relationships and trust with peers, employees,
customers and constituents

Verbal Communications
•Written word – more permanent and orderly,
(email, reports, letter, proposals, minutes, etc.)
Strive for 6 things:
• Accuracy
• Relevance
• Brevity
• Structure
• Clarity
• Audience

Type of Communication Example Usefulness
Written Word Letters, Memos, Reports, Permanence and
Proposals, Notes, Contracts, Accessibility
Agendas, Minutes, Plans, etc.
Spoken Word Conversations, Interviews, Meetings Immediacy
Debates, Announcements, Speeches,
etc.
Symbolic Gestures Gestures, Facial Expressions, Actions, Unconsciously
Tone of Voice, Silence, Stance, Affect Others
Posture, Movement, etc.
Visual Images Pictures, Drawings, Illustrations, Powerful conscious
Charts, Videos, Logos, Graphics, etc. and unconscious
messages

Email
Get out of your Chair!

Non-Verbal
•Body Language – can enhance the spoken word
–Complementing
–Reinforcing
–Emphasizing
–Substituting

Non-Verbal
•Body Language / Gestures – can contradict
the spoken word
–Hands
–Body
–Head / Face

Exercise:
I need 3 volunteers from the audience.

Do I contradict myself? Very well
then, I contradict myself, (I am large, I
contain multitudes.)
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Exercise:
Take 5 minutes to talk about how non-verbal communication can
enhance vs. contradict communication.
Share.

KEY 2 –
“Heard it through the
Grapevine”
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Use appropriate channels
for maximum
effectiveness

Effective Communications
Goal – to achieve clarity
• Must be clear in your own mind
• Must have a succinct deliver
• Ensure the message has been clearly and correctly
understood

Benefits
• Improve our effectiveness and our job
satisfaction as leaders
– Relationships (employees, peers, superiors,
customers, etc.)
– Management
– Selling
– Counseling
– Coaching
– Mentoring
– Conflict Management

Business and Technical Communications
•Know your audience
•Talk less about technology and more about
how technology services affect those using
them
•Talk about how technology can enable the
delivery of business process and services
•Beware of technical jargon and acronyms!

Questions
Who, What, When, Why, How

Types of Questions
•Open
•Closed
•Fact Finding
•Follow Up
•Feedback

“Nothing in life is more important than
the ability to communicate
effectively.”
Gerald Ford

“ I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me alI I knew);
Their names were What and Why and
When and How and Where and Who”
Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories

KEY 3 –
“Return to Sender”
Elvis Presley
Question and
provide feedback for
clarity

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Communication Styles

Analyticals
•Quantitative – like facts, figures, numbers, details
•Perfectionists – see themselves as experts
•Critical thinkers – don’t like people to break rules
•Analyze – need time to process information and
make decisions, cautious, adverse to risk
•Inflexible – often resist change
•Reserved – want everything in writing and in detail

Amiable
•Responsible – take it all on, hard for them to
delegate
•Reserved – don’t need the spot light
•Multi-taskers – can juggle multiple tasks
•Cooperative – great listeners and team players, but
get hurt feelings or can be offended easily
•Patient – generally nice people, value others and
friendships
•Persistent – want to be treated fairly

Drivers
•Accomplish – get things done, action-oriented
•Poor listeners – brief, get to the point, afraid of
wasting their time
•Quick decisions – don’t want all the detail, will make
decisions on incomplete information
•Judgmental – always right, highly opinionated,
brusque and abrupt

Expressives
•Talkers – love to talk and socialize, difficult to keep
on task, easily distracted
•Creative – never meet a stranger, abstract thinkers
•Enthusiastic – very articulate and able to influence
others
•Verbal centric – don’t like detail or paper
•People Centered – don’t like working alone
•Poor listeners – say the same thing in three different
ways because they are always thinking and revising

So, what happens when different styles
communicate without understanding style
differences?
Analytical vs. Expressive
Driver vs. Amiable
Driver vs. Expressive

What do you do?
•Understand the different styles and adjust your
communication to the needs of others
•Alter your behavior so that it fits better with
another person’s style; this is your leverage
•Don’t give up your point of view, opinions or
goals
•Remain flexible and understand
communication in another person’s comfort
zone

Exercise:
Complete the communications style questionnaire
and plot your style on the style grid.
What did you learn about yourself?
Share.

Communicating with Analyticals
Do Don’t
Be prepared Be disorganized or messy
Be accurate Be informal or loud
Be direct Rush a decision
Present pros and cons Fail to follow through
Be specific Waste time
Be persistent Leave things to chance
Present timelines/actions Threaten or cajole
Use facts and evidence Use opinions as evidence

Communicating with Amiables
Do Don’t
Start with something personal Rush into business
Show sincere interest in them Make their decision
Listen and be responsive Force a response
Be casual and non-threatening Be demanding
Ask “how” questions Debate facts
Provide assurances Be patronizing or
abrupt

Communicating with Drivers
Do Don’t
Be specific and brief Small talk, waste time
Stick to business Be disorganized
Be prepared Leave things unclear
Present information clearly Ask rhetorical
Ask “what” questions questions
Take issues with facts Speculate
Be directive or make
their decisions

Communicating with Expressives
Do Don’t
Be fast and entertaining Legislate
Leave time for socializing Be cold or aloof
Talk about their goals Press for solutions
Deal with the “big” picture Deal with details
Ask for their opinions and ideas Be dogmatic
Offer incentives or rewards Talk down to them

You can have brilliant ideas, but if
you can’t get them across, your
ideas won’t get you anywhere.
Lee Iacocca

What we’ve got here is a failure to
communicate.
Frank. R. Pierson
The problem with communication is the
illusion that it has occurred.
George Bernard Shaw

Communications Styles
KEY 4 –
“Thank you for
lettin’ me be myself”
Sly and the Family Stone
Understand how to
communicate with styles
other than your own

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Active Listening
Why do we listen?
•To obtain information
•To understand
•For enjoyment
•To learn
We remember 25-50% of what we hear!

Active Listening
5 Elements of Active Listening
•Pay attention, not just to the words, but body
language as well
•Show you are listening, mirroring
•Provide feedback
•Defer judgment
•Respond appropriately

Active Listening
Listening Modes
•Competitive or Combative
•Passive or Attentive
•Active or Reflective

Active Listening
Using Listening Skills
•Empathizing – listening from the perspective of the
speaker
•Analyzing – using analytical questions to get at the
full meaning of the speaker’s message
•Reflecting – paraphrasing what has been said to
show the speaker you have heard and understand the
message.

Active Listening
Exercise:
SOLER
Face the speaker Squarely
Adopt an Open posture
Lean
Maintain good Eye contact
Try to be Relaxed
Teams of 3 – Listener, Speaker, Observer

Active Listening
Feedback
Effective feedback has to be:
• accepted by the person receiving it
• must be constructive
• must not be critical

Active Listening
Speaker
•Factual, specific and about what has happened
•Addresses the behavior and the effect
•Take into account needs of receiver as well as you
•Make it well timed
Receiver
•Listen carefully to what is said
•Try not to be defensive; mentally note questions or
disagreements
•Paraphrase what you think you heard
•Ask questions for clarification

Active Listening
Barriers
•Physical Barriers
•Perceptual Barriers
•Emotional Barriers
•Cultural Barriers
•Language Barriers
•Gender Barriers
•Interpersonal Barriers

Active Listening
Exercise:
SOLER with Barriers
Teams of 3 – Listener, Speaker, Observer
Barriers will be provided to either the speaker or
receiver. Do not share your specific barrier with your
team.

Active Listening
The most important thing in communication is to
hear what isn’t being said.
Peter Drucker
When people talk, listen completely. Most people
never listen.
Ernest Hemingway
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can
listen twice as much as we speak.
Epictetus

Active Listening
KEY 5 –
“Listen to What the Man
Said”
Paul McCartney and Wings
Truly hear and see what’s
being communicated to
you

Active Listening
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Summary and Wrap-Up
Sender
Receiver
Blah,
blah,
blah
Message >>>>> Method >>>>>>
<<<<<<<< Feedback <<<<<<<<<<<

Summary and Wrap-Up
Active listening Channels
Eye contact Written and
Spoken word
Watch body language Gestures
Pay attention Body Language
Mirror speaker
Turn toward person Clarity
>>>>>>>>> Feedback >>>>>>>>>>>
Message <<<<< Method <<<<<<
Sender
Receiver

Summary and Wrap-Up
1 Understand your role as a sender
and a receiver
2 Use appropriate channels for maximum
effectiveness
3 Question and provide feedback for clarity
4 Understand how to communicate with
styles other than your own
5 Truly hear and see what’s being
communicated to you

Understanding Communications:A Key to Effective Leadership
Summary and Wrap-Up
The art of communication is the
language of leadership.
James Humes

Summary and Wrap-Up
Development of effective
communication skills
is a life-long process. As a
leader, you must
practice and work at
improving these skills.
“The long and winding road”
The Beatles

Thank you for your attendance!
Questions?

Contact Information
Lori Sundal, Director – Enterprise
Information Systems
Office of Information Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
404-894-5348
lori.sundal@oit.gatech.edu

Reference Information
Heller, R. (1998). Communicate Clearly.
New York: DK Publishing, Inc.
Lawson, M.A., Ed.M., K. (2006) Successful Communication.
New York: Axis Publishing Limited
Taggart, B. M. (2006). Communication and Self-Discovery.
Boulder, Colorado: Educause Institute
Trubitt, L. and Muchane, M. (2008). In Plain English, Please: Effective
IT Communications. Educause Quarterly
Internet Resources:
http://www.jenniferwebb.com/communicate.htm
http://www.hodu.com/barriers.shtml

Leadership and communication

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

La actualidad más candente (20)

Destacado

Destacado (20)

Similar a Leadership and communication

Similar a Leadership and communication (20)

Leadership and communication