Leadership and Communication

This article discusses the importance of leadership and communication in personal and professional settings. It covers various capacities such as leading from inner guidance, using dialogue to harvest group wisdom, being open to receiving collective intuitive guidance, withdrawing projections to enhance clarity and cooperation, fostering emotional connection to enhance performance, and connecting with the bigger picture. The article also discusses the author's current position and future objectives, themes, plot progressions, forms, and settings, and success in their craft.

Running head: LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION 1
Leadership and communication
Student’s Name
Name of Institution

LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION 2
Capacity 13: Leading from inner guidance and sound analysis
What inspires me to seek out leadership is the passion to help people reflect on their inner
self, their spirituality and human aspect which are essential in creating personal communication.
Personal communication involves empathy and being concerned about people’s everyday lives
beyond a work or other formal environment. This way, a communicator or leader is able to
impact change in multiple aspects of people’s lives. Through sharing and engaging with others
within my environment, I have come across like-minded people who hold the same dream and
vision.
Capacity 14: Use of dialogue to harvest group wisdom
Engaging in dialogue has helped me develop proper listening skills which are essential
for effective communication. Through proper listening, I am able to give people the chance to
express themselves and a chance to be understood. Listening has also given me an opportunity to
be more empathetic as I now not only want my voice to be heard but other people’s voices as
well.
Capacity 15: being open to receiving collective intuitive guidance
By engaging in this activity, I have been able to attain inner peace by focusing on my
inner thoughts and feelings allowing for more self-discovery. By engaging in group meditation, I
have been able to explore and share inner parts of me which have made it possible to let go of
anger and worries that hinder peace of mind. The main aim of this activity is to become more
perceptive to intuition as well as other people’s sense of things. All group members are drawn
towards this objective.
Capacity 16: withdrawing projections to enhance clarity and cooperation

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This activity has proved helpful in helping members develop a more open mind by letting
go of preconceived notions and judgments about others. By withdrawing projections about other
members, all individuals within the group are able to develop a more clear thought process that
mainly focuses on the assigned tasks. One way of helping withdraw the projections has been to
acknowledge the unique perspective each member contributes to the development of useful
ideas. This has helped nurture an environment of mutual respect and collaborative effort towards
the attainment of collective goals.
Capacity 17: fostering emotional connection to enhance performance
Subtle body movements and gestures can have a profound impact on staff or group
morale. With that in mind, I like engaging in gestures and movements that create humor or evoke
feelings of determination and hope. For instance, by raising a clenched fist, I am able to appeal to
people’s sense of hope and belief that they can solve a seemingly challenging task. Funny facial
expressions also help lighten the mood and uplift people from a difficult experience. Patting
people on the back and having personal conversations also helps give them reassurance and
confidence about their performance. During periods of despair, I usually remind my colleagues
about previous achievements and victories in an effort to emphasize their ability to perform the
task at hand.
Capacity 18: connecting with the bigger picture, the ecology of the whole
The norms, beliefs, and culture of my country have helped shape my ideas on freedom,
religion and the way I view life as a whole. Being an American citizen has made it possible for
me to interact with numerous diverse people who have enhanced my ability to develop a wider
perspective on various issues affecting our society. Being born in a country where sports is a big

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industry has also helped me appreciate my talent as well as that of others. I have also been able
to note the role sport plays in uniting people from all walks of life as well as uplifting their
economic standards. Through deep reflection, I have discovered that all important aspects about
the ecology have contributed in defining my beliefs, thoughts, and ideas. There are therefore no
exiled parts within me.
My current position and future objectives
Looking back at the previous exercise and reflection I have noticed that I liked appealing
to people’s intrinsic motivation without necessarily resulting into coercion. With time, however,
it has become very clear that although a participative and democratic approach is the best method
of dealing with issues, it may not apply in all aspects of life. From that perspective therefore, I
believe it is best to combine both transformational influence and transactional power in dealing
with people.
It has come to my realization that transactional leadership which relies on reward and
punishment is applicable in follower’s who cannot channel intrinsic motivation in performance
of assigned duties. It has also become clearer that the best leaders are defined by their ability to
strike a balance between the use of transformational influence and transactional power. Through
deep reflection and meditation, I have learnt that power and influence is based on relationships
rather than the level of authority (Pearson, 2012).For instance in a workplace setting involving a
couple, it would be more prudent for the authority figure to use transformational influence in
dealing with the spouse. The use of transactional power in such a scenario would be
counterproductive since the follower would feel undermined by leader given their emotional
attachment. However, in an instance where the follower does not appreciate the professional
boundaries, it would force the spouse to employ transactional power.I have thus concluded that

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the use of either methods is dependent on context. Transformational influence is best suited
where a leader wants to get things done and still wants to maintain healthy friendships with
people considered important. Transactional power on the other hand serves to remind followers
that there are boundaries to be maintained.
Themes, plot progressions, forms and settings
The above narrative emphasizes on the need to recognize the context in which to employ
the different methods of influence. Transformative influence plays a very significant role in
appealing to an individual or group’s intrinsic motivation to realize a specific objective. The
narrative also equally recognizes transactional power as an equally essential tool in
accomplishing an objective. The above points and themes would be shared in a formal forum
whereby members openly contribute and recount their experiences and challenges regarding
leadership. Each member would be required to give examples of instances when they found it
hard to communicate instructions or messages to other individuals. The other members would be
required to listen keenly and desist from unnecessary interruptions. This way, the respective
speakers would have a conducive environment to express themselves.
Afterwards, members would be asked to give their responses concerning the various case
scenarios. The response session would provide me with an opportunity to assess member’s
prejudices and stereotypes that hinder clarity of thought. Giving members a platform to air their
responses would also provide diverse opinions thus providing me with an opportunity to generate
better ideas. Afterwards, I would offer my opinion on the various case scenarios previously
expressed by the members.

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During the forum, I would share with the members what I believe will work in their
different case scenarios. Afterwards, I would collect their sentiments on my views and work
jointly to develop a more effective criteria on when to employ the various methods. I would also
advise the members to let go of prejudices, stereotypes and other hindrances that can
compromise clarity of thought. Additionally, I would encourage members to employ a more
empathetic approach towards communication as it helps a leader to develop the followers’
perspective which is essential in navigating the barriers to proper communication. Employing an
empathetic approach in communication enables one to offer proper advice, create the required
third space as well as apply the proper incentive to provide motivation (Simon, 2008).
Success in my craft
Through learning and engaging with others, I have developed proper communication
skills which I have imparted in other people as well. What’s more, I am able to interact and
emotionally connect with people thus giving them focus and drive to achieve their potential.
Equally important is my ability to provide people with encouragement and assurance necessary
to boost their belief and help them pursue what they consider impossible. I have been actively
involved in trying to redefine people’s ideals to help them believe in their dreams even in the
midst of adversity.
In addition, my efforts also revolve around nurturing resilience in people who are at the
brink of despair. By appealing to people’s essence of life and what they hold most dear, I am
helps to rekindle hope and optimism and consequently help people to bounce back from their
difficult experiences. As a great communicator, I am also able to shift people’s focus towards
relating with their whole selves. I do this by opening people’s imagination to the numerous
distinct parts of themselves. For instance I have been able to stimulate reflection on the various

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aspects such as culture, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation as well as other beliefs and
norms that make up a human being. Realizing these parts within the individual helps people gain
an understanding of their complexity as well as that of others.
By understanding the distinct parts that make the whole, people are then able to draw
similarities between themselves and those they considered different. Educating people about
parts that make the whole helps people overcome barriers to critical thinking as people realize
their prejudice or biases towards others. By overcoming barriers to critical thinking, people are
then able to view issues more objectively and without falling victim to preconceived notions
(Pearson,2012). I have also been able to enhance people’s problem solving skills by encouraging
them to view problems as opportunities to channel their energy towards finding the relevant
solutions. This encourages people to participate in problem solving rather than relying on others
to intervene. Participating in problem solving has also helped reduce instances of blame games
as people become more focused on generating ideas to develop a proper solution.
References

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Pearson, C. (2012). The transforming leader: New approaches to leadership for the twenty-
first century. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Simon, W. (2008). Leadership: A Critical Text. London: Sage Publications.