2. Connecting Leadership and Communication
Researchers seldom agree completely on how best to define leadership, but most would agree that leaders are individuals who guide, direct, motivate, or inspire others. They are the men and women who influence others in an organization or in a community. They command others’ attention. They persuade others to follow them or pursue goals they define. They control Leadership Communication: A communication Approach for Senior-Level Managers by Deborah J. Barrett, Ph.D. Handbook of Business Strategy Emerald Group Publishing, 2006. Pages 385-390 situations. They improve the performance of groups and organizations. They get results. These individuals may not be presidents of countries or the CEOs of companies, but they could be. They could also be employees who step forward to mentor less experienced or younger employees, managers who direct successful project teams, or vice presidents who lead divisions and motivate their staff to achieve company goals.
Through effective communication, leaders lead. Good communication skills enable, foster, and create the understanding and trust necessary to encourage others to follow a leader. Without effective communication, a manager accomplishes little. Without effective communication, a manager is not an effective leader.
In fact, being able to communicate effectively is what allows a manager to move into a leadership position. An early Harvard Business School study on what it takes to achieve success and be promoted in an organization says that the individual who gets ahead in business is the person who “is able to communicate, to make sound decisions, and to get things done with and through people” (Bowman, Jones, Peterson, Gronouski, & Mahoney, 1964). By communicating more effectively, managers improve their ability to get things done with and through people