The framework is not meant to suggest a hierarchy, which is why it is depicted as a spiral. All effective communications depends on the core skills at the center of the spiral. These are the more individual skills. Leaders in any organization must master the skills at the core (strategy, writing, and speaking), but they also need to expand their skills to include those needed to lead and manage groups, such skills as emotional intelligence, cultural literacy, listening, managing teams and meetings, and coaching and mentoring. Eventually, particularly when they move into the higher-levels of organizational leadership, they will need to develop the capabilities in the outer circle, the corporate communication skills – employee relations, change communication, media relations, crisis communication, and image and reputation management. 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
1. Core Communication. Communication strategy is included in the core, but managers will find they always need to take a strategic approach to be a master of leadership communication. Strategy is the foundation on which any effective communication depends. Leaders need to be able to analyze an audience in every situation and develop a communication strategy that facilitates accomplishing their communication objectives.
Managers need to be able to structure and write effective simple and complex correspondence and documents, from e-mails and memos to proposals and reports. They need to be able to write and to speak in the language expected of business leaders, language that is clear, correct, and concise. In addition, they need to be able to create and deliver oral presentations confidently and persuasively, using graphics that contribute to delivering your messages. These are the capabilities at the core of all business communication. Success in managerial and corporate communication depends on mastering these core capabilities.
2. Managerial Communication. Managerial communication capabilities build on the core abilities. They are the capabilities that more directly involve managing others, from one-on-one contact to interacting with groups and the broader organization. They are the skills needed to interact with individuals and to manage groups. Managerial communication begins with emotional intelligence or interpersonal skills and an understanding of cross-cultural differences needed to interact effectively with others as individuals or groups. Listening is an essential skill in any rhetorical situation, but is pictured aligned more with the managerial ring because managing others effectively requires even greater attention to hearing what others say, not 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
simply what we think we hear them say. The managerial ring also includes leading meetings and managing teams, both essential capabilities for today’s leaders.
3. Corporate Communication. Corporate communication involves expansion from the managerial skills to those abilities needed to lead an organization and address a broader community. Communication becomes even more complex when managers move into the position of needing to think about how best to communicate to all internal and external stakeholders. Again, any good communication depends on having a strategy, but as the audiences become more diverse and larger, the communication strategy becomes more complicated. Leaders will find as they move into higher levels of an organization that they become the leader of change programs and vision development. In addition, they become the company’s face and voice for the public.