Leadership and Professional Communication: A Comprehensive Report

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Academic and Professional Studies
Topic: Leadership and Professional Communication
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Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Communication........................................................................................................................4
Ways to improve communication.............................................................................................6
Styles of leadership..................................................................................................................7
Barriers or problems of communication...................................................................................8
Good discussion.......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................10
Reference List........................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Leadership is regarded as one of the vital elements within an organisation as a leader is
responsible for holding the organisation intact. Here, communication plays a crucial role as
well because a leader is responsible for communicating significant messages among the
important stakeholders that mainly consists of employees, strategic partners, customers and
shareholders as well. The report shall be written to get an insight into “theories of
communication” and the importance of communication within organisations. Thereafter,
various styles of leadership like participative or pragmatic styles shall be discussed and
barriers to communication shall be outlined as well.
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Communication
Communication is a process through which the information of an organisation is shared
among its members and different departments. It is essential in the business to enhance the
cooperation and coordination among team members. Communication is significant in
planning, controlling, organising, and leading people of the organisation (Solaja et al., 2016).
The communication in the organisation affects the effectiveness of the members as well as
organisational functions. According to the theory of communication, there are some
elements of communication such as sender, receiver, message, medium, noise, and
response. The sender is the source or encoder of the communication while the receiver is
the listener or decoder. The message is what has been said or written, it can also be the
body language of the person. The medium is the channel through which the message has
been transmitted. The response is the feedback of the listener after receiving the message
from the sender.
Figure 1: The process of communication as per the communication theory
(Source: Taken from the support)
The communication in organisation affects the leadership of the system. It plays a major role
in influencing the leadership style of the leader. Through communication, the leader would
be able to manage the personnel as well as control their activities for better functioning of
the organisation. Communication skills of the leader would enhance the performance of the
employees and would yield better result for the organisation. Its communicative style would
stimulate the engagement of the employees and they would perform their duties efficiently
(Lindlof and Taylor, 2017). Communication is one of the factors that help in being a
successful manager or leader of the organisation. Leader has the duty to take charge of the
situations and encourage the members of the organisation. It can be achieved by proper
communication skills. The leader should be able to convince others and ensure that the
employees are following him or the principles created by him for the benefit of organisation.
Good communication skill helps to have a better understanding of the situation. A leader
should not only participate in listening and telling to the employees rather understanding
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their beliefs and emotional condition is also necessary (Shamir et al., 2018). An effective
leader should have good communication skills to promote his values and in inculcating his
beliefs among the members of the organisation. He should be able to mould the thoughts of
the listener so that they would follow him. The leader should be persuasive and a great
orator so that the employees would appreciate him and try to become like him. Thus, the
success of the organisation depends on the communication of the leader. Therefore, it can
be said that for the smooth functioning of every department of an organisation interaction is
necessary to build trust as well as for sharing vision.
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Ways to improve communication
The communication process depends upon both the receiver and the sender and therefore it
is regarded as a “two-way” process (Hall, 2016). In this case, the sender and the receiver
have the responsibility of improving the process of communication. In case of a school,
communication process can be improved only when school administrators clearly state their
ideas. Further, it is essential for administrators to identify the purpose of a conversation.
Here, it should be noted that the tone or language is clear and the receiver is getting
involved in the process. In case of organisations, professionals are supposed to follow
certain standards of business communication. In the workplace, employees play a crucial
role and the manager should regularly check-in as per the communication needs of the
employees. The manager should ensure that the employee is feeling empowered and
comfortable while expressing opinions. It should be noted that the communication process
requires planning (Hynes and Veltsos, 2018). Objectivity should be maintained while sending
a message so that the receiver can get the chance of reacting appropriately. While
communicating a message, it is also necessary to consider the feelings, interests and
emotions of the sender. It should be noted that the receiver of the message should stop
talking and must help the other person to talk freely.
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Styles of leadership
Multiple leadership styles can be applied within an organisation. Primarily based upon the
situation, a leadership style becomes effective. Here, three styles of leadership shall be
highlighted and only one style shall be discussed in detail.
Authoritative style- In this case, the leader is accountable for directing and controlling the
actions of his/her subordinates. The leader has the highest form of control over other
employees and consequently, the employees have low levels of autonomy (Iqbal et al.,
2015). The tasks should be carried out under the “close supervision” of the leader.
Participative style- As the name suggests, in case of participative leadership, the employees
are allowed to participate in the “decision-making process” of the organisation. All the issues
and relevant information are provided to the employees so that a collective consensus can
be reached. It can be advantageous because it tends to improve the retention rate of the
employees (Li et al., 2018). Overall, collaboration between employees and seniors tend to
improve.
Pragmatic style- Here, the pragmatic leader is usually a practical thinker and they are quite
competitive in nature. The pragmatists are usually unafraid of taking risks because they are
more concerned about deriving results (Sosik and Jung, 2018). It should be noted that a
pragmatic leader tend to expect that their employees would meet the standards and they are
likely to deal with obstacles as well.
Discussion on the participative style
After analysing different styles of leadership, it has been understood that the participative
style is advantageous in comparison to other types because here both the employees and
the managers can form collaboration before making pertinent decisions. Moreover, the
competition rate among employees tend to decrease because within the office environment.
In this cutthroat competitive market, if employees work collaboratively then they are likely to
achieve common goals quicker. Apart from that, the rate of employee retention can be
improved because employees tend to feel that they are adding “value” to the organisation.
Here, the employees can take part in an active role.
Further, in case of participative style, the employees have the freedom to make a choice
between the types of communication. For instance, in case of consultation style, the higher
authorities tend to investigate the opinions of the staffs prior to making decisions. However, it
should be noted that at the end, the manager tends to make the final decision. Contrarily, in
case of “joint decision-making style”, the manager not only asks for the opinions of the
subordinates but also makes decisions jointly. Hence, it can be stated that this process is
more effective than the formerly mentioned one. Moreover, the participative style can help in
developing solutions that are more creative (Mulki et al., 2015). When a manager is unable
to make a decision, it is appropriate to engage employees because they might come up with
creative solutions.
Although there is no such rule that forces a manager to choose one style over another
because decision-making depends upon the situation in the workplace. However, it can be
recommended that participative style is appropriate in finding creative solutions to a
workplace issue.
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Barriers or problems of communication
There are some barriers of communication such as,
Office Politics
There could be withholding of vital information from the members of the organisation for
personal benefits. This would affect the communication of the organisation in negative way.
It would also affect the organisational culture of the institution that would reduce the image of
the organisation as well. Withholding information would create a negative impact on the
behaviour of employees and they would not trust the system of organisation that would
further affect their loyalty towards it (Henttonen et al., 2016).
Hierarchical barriers
Maintenance of hierarchy is important in the organisation for control over the performance of
the employees. Yet, unnecessary strictness or partiality towards the members would affect
the communication between them. The members of higher rank in the organisation might not
speak pleasantly with the members of lower ranks (Bunderson and Van der Vegt, 2018).
This would limit the communication of the latter and they would refrain themselves from
interacting with former during problem in work. They would not share their idea too, that
would limit their growth in the organisation.
Physical barriers
The physical distractions between the members of the organisation would affect the
communication among them. Some examples of physical barriers are telephone call,
distance between people, visitors, interference due to radio, and some others. Distance
between the people would affect the communication among the people of the organisation.
There would not be clear understanding of the problems that would affect the functioning of
the organisation. This would seriously affect the growth of the business.
Psychological barriers
The psychological barriers can be due to difference in background, values, perceptions,
needs, expectations, and biases of the members of the organisation. It can be occurred that
the receiver that affect their communication has mistaken the message of the sender. This
would create confusion among the members of the organisation and affect the functions of
various departments.
Problematic layout in workplace
The layout of the organisation would affect the communication if it were not properly
organised. For instance, the open-plan where the employees have to do work together can
create communication issues (Maben et al., 2015). There would be noises and chaos that
would affect their tasks in a negative way. There would not be privacy of workers that would
influence their performance negatively. On the other hand, if the leader or manager of the
organisation are locked in their cabin, the employees would find it difficult to interact with him
directly. This would affect the functioning of the organisation.
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Good discussion
As discussed in this report, a range of communication barriers exist within an organisation
and it is essential to prioritise a range of solutions. In case of hierarchical barriers, it can be
stated that the problem can be fixed only when the senior leaders actively engage in “one-to-
one” discussion and consider the feedbacks of the employees. This in turn shall allow
communication to flourish between the team members. Even when leaders receive negative
feedbacks from subordinates, then they should make thorough discussions regarding the
issue. Further, physical barriers to communication can be mitigated between individuals.
Since, distractions can be in the form of telephone calls or sudden visitors, it is fundamental
for the people to reduce the rate of interruptions (Voinea et al., 2015). In a workplace
environment, barriers like telephone calls and “drop-in” visitors can be removed by issuing
strict instructions. In case of physical barrier between two people, social media can play a
vital role by creating a connection and overcoming the distance. Lastly, psychological barrier
exists between people due to a growing “psychological distance” between people and
successful communication tactics mainly using empathy and sincerity can mitigate the issue.
Both the individuals should be conscious enough to remove unrealistic expectations from
each other.
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Conclusion
It can be concluded form the given report that communication is necessary in every
organisation for sharing information as well as beliefs among the employees. Leader of the
organisation should have extraordinary communication skills to mould the thinking of the
members as well as for building a healthy relationship among them. As per the
communication theory, some elements facilitate the communication among the people. The
communication can be improved between two persons if they consider each other’s feelings
and thoughts. It can also be attained by defining the objectives of topic that needs to be
discussed. There are various leadership styles such as authoritative, pragmatic, and
participative. Among them participative style is best for enhancing communication between
the leader and the team members. Some barriers of communication hinder the interaction
between members of organisation. These can be solved through good discussion.
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Reference List
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teams: A review and integration of research on vertical and horizontal member
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pp.47-73.
Hall, A., 2016. Exploring the workplace communication preferences of millennials. Journal of
Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 20, p.35.
Henttonen, K., Kianto, A. and Ritala, P., 2016. Knowledge sharing and individual work
performance: an empirical study of a public sector organisation. Journal of Knowledge
Management, 20(4), pp.749-768.
Hynes, G.E. and Veltsos, J.R., 2018. Managerial communication: Strategies and
applications. SAGE Publications.
Iqbal, N., Anwar, S. and Haider, N., 2015. Effect of leadership style on employee
performance. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 5(5), pp.1-6.
Li, G., Liu, H. and Luo, Y., 2018. Directive versus participative leadership: Dispositional
antecedents and team consequences. Journal of Occupational and Organizational
Psychology, 91(3), pp.645-664.
Lindlof, T.R. and Taylor, B.C., 2017. Qualitative communication research methods. Sage
publications.
Maben, J., Griffiths, P., Penfold, C., Simon, M., Pizzo, E., Anderson, J., Robert, G., Hughes,
J., Murrells, T., Brearley, S. and Barlow, J., 2015. Staff experiences of the advantages and
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hospital design: workforce implications and impact on patient and staff experiences of all
single room hospital accommodation. NIHR Journals Library.
Mulki, J.P., Caemmerer, B. and Heggde, G.S., 2015. Leadership style, salesperson's work
effort and job performance: the influence of power distance. Journal of Personal Selling &
Sales Management, 35(1), pp.3-22.
Shamir, B., Arthur, M.B. and House, R.J., 2018. The rhetoric of charismatic leadership: A
theoretical extension, a case study, and implications for research. In Leadership Now:
Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir (pp. 31-49). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Solaja, M.O., Idowu, E.F. and James, E.A., 2016. Exploring the relationship between
leadership communication style, personality trait and organizational productivity. Serbian
Journal of Management, 11(1), pp.99-117.
Sosik, J.J. and Jung, D., 2018. Full range leadership development: Pathways for people,
profit, and planet. Routledge.
Voinea, D.V., Busu, O.V., Opran, E.R. and Vladutescu, S., 2015. Embarrassments in
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