Module 3

What is Leadership
Communication?

Leadership communication is the controlled, purposeful

transfer of meaning by which leaders influence a single person,
a group, an organization, or a community.
What is Leadership
Communication?
Leadership communication uses the full range of communication
skills and resources to overcome interferences and to create
and deliver messages that:

✓ Guide
✓ Direct
✓ Motivate
✓ Inspire

others to action.
What is Leadership
Communication?
Leadership communication consists of three primary rings:

(1) Core

(2) Managerial and

(3) Corporate
FUNCTIONAL CORPORATE
CORPORATE
1. E I 1. Employee
2. Cultural relations
Literacy FUNCTIONAL 2. Media
3. Coaching relations
4. Mentoring 3. Change
CORE comm.
5. Listening
6. Teams 4. Crisis
Strategy
7. Meetings Writing comm.
Speaking 5. Image/
reputation
management
Earliest Researchers in
Organization Communication
1. Chester Bernard (1938)

2. Dr. Dan. B. Curtis

3. Dr. Richard I. Lester

Earliest Researchers in
Organization Communication
1. Chester Bernard ( Functions of the Executive)

- Establishing a system of Communication

- Securing essential services from other members
- Formulating organizational purposes and objectives
- To manage people and make sure they do their jobs

1a. Incentive method Persuasive method

(offer incentives) (alter motives)

Money Coercion Inoculation

Propaganda
Earliest Researchers in
Organization Communication
2. Dr. Dan. B. Curtis

- Effective communication skills are tantamount to

to success of the business organization

- Business leaders and other senior leaders place

the highest value on effective interpersonal
communication

- Productivity depends on effective communication

Earliest Researchers in
Organization Communication
3. Dr. Richard I. Lester

- Studied over five hundred leaders from various

organizations

- Concluded: ineffective communication was the

number one concern

- First step in improving communication is to

provide a good working climate
Three Basic Climates

1. Dehumanized climate

2. Over humanized climate

3. Situational climate
Dehumanized Climate: Basic
assumptions
Subordinates :
1. Are lazy

2. Won’t take responsibility

3. Lack desire to achieve significant results

4. Demonstrate inability to direct own behaviour

5. Show indifference to organization needs

6. Prefer to be led by others

Leaders communicate their belief in such assumptions

by withholding information (since confidential information

is not safe with subordinates), telling subordinates not

only what to do but how to do it, doing all the upward

and lateral communication themselves.

• Leaders of this type either kill ideas

• Send good ideas forward themselves

• Subordinates are not motivated to present new ideas

• Subordinates form informal alliances to spread

information
Over Humanized Climate : Basic
assumptions
➢ Human relations are more important than organizational
objectives

➢ Conflicts and tensions should be reduced at all costs

➢ Motivation of subordinates should be almost totally

intrinsic and self-directed

➢ Participative decision making is always superior to

decisions made by one or a few
Leaders communicate their belief in this approach by

emphasizing individual needs more than organizational

needs.
Situational Climate

The situational approach suggests an “appropriate”

climate be established for each situation.

Situational Climate: Basic
Assumptions
✓ Flexible climate that can adapt to the complex and
changing nature of individual and organizational
needs is superior to a fixed climate.

✓ Individuals are not naturally passive or resistant to

organizational needs or reluctant to assume responsibility.

✓ Individuals are not basically lazy, work can be structured to

bring individual and organizational goals in line with one
another.
Situational Climate: Outcomes
✓ Subordinates’ feelings of self-worth and respect for others
will likely increase

✓ Perception of similarity between personal and

organizational goals should promote increased productivity

✓ A greater sense of responsibility by subordinates

✓ Subordinates will probably bring other work behaviors

in line with organizational objectives
Steps to Improvement
1. Intrapersonal : Emotional reactions
journal

2. Interpersonal : Interpersonal rating

: journal

3. Stress Management : Impulse control journal

4. Affect : Motivation journal

Steps To Improvement
Intrapersonal

• Determine what emotions you are feeling and when

Interpersonal

• List areas where you need to show empathy

• Volunteer for social service activities

Stress Management
• Use relaxation techniques

• Share your feelings with someone close to you

• Herbal tea
Affect
 Rate the activities of your day on the following “happiness
scale” :

Enriching =3
Satisfying =2
Nominal =1
Disappointing = 0
(For every five items listed, your “happiness score” should be
10 - 15)
The ability to have deep awareness of your emotions
and the emotions of others and use this information to
guide your thinking and actions.
Importance for business
 Leaders must understand followers

 Followers must understand leaders

Business Cases
 Experienced partners in a multinational consulting
firm were assessed on the EI competencies.
Partners who scored above the median on 9 or more
of the 20 competencies delivered $1.2 million more
profit from their accounts than did other partners – a
139 percent incremental gain.

(Boyatzis, 1999)
Business Cases
 An analysis of more than 300 top-level executives
from fifteen global companies showed that six
emotional competencies distinguished stars from the
average: Influence, Team leadership, Organizational
Awareness, Self-confidence, Achievement drive, and
Leadership.

(Spencer, L. M., Jr., 1997)

Business Cases
 Sales personnel selected on the basis of emotional
competence also had 63% less turnover during the
first year than those selected in the typical way.

(Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, &

Kelner, 1997).
Business Cases
 Research by the Center for Creative Leadership has
found that the primary causes of derailment in
executives involve deficits in emotional
competencies.

The three primary ones are:

 Difficulty in handling change

 Not being able to work well in a team
 Poor interpersonal relations
Personal Communication
Every culture has a communication system to convey:

• Thoughts, feelings

• Knowledge, and information through speech, actions,

and writing.

Understanding a culture’s spoken and unspoken language

provides insight into why people think and behave in a
certain way.
Personal Communication: Spoken
Language
Spoken Language is the part of a culture’s communication
system embodied in its spoken and written vocabulary.

➢ Companies have made language blunders in their

international business dealings.

➢ A lingua franca is a third or “link” language that is

understood by two parties who speak different languages.

➢ Some languages are dying out, while some languages

are growing, including Mandarin, Spanish, and English.
Personal Communication: Body
Language
Body Language is communicated through unspoken cues,
including:

• Hand gestures, facial expressions, physical greetings,

eye contact, and the manipulation of personal space.

• Body language communicates information and feelings

and differs among cultures.

• Most body language is subtle and takes time to interpret

Indian Culture
➢ Extension motivation

➢ Synthesis
Avoidance syndrome
➢ Dependency motive
Fear of failure
and conformity
Indian Culture

Difficulty in relating to peer level

➢Social stratification
Lack of interdependence

Role fixation and role bound

Cynicism
➢ Fatalism
Lack of critical self examination
Indian Culture
Non confronting behaviour
➢ Non involvement Excessive tolerance

Lack of interpersonal trust

➢ Individualism
Difficulty in collaboration

➢ Avoiding reality
Cross Culture Skills
 The number of MNEs has increased significantly
since the 1990’s.

 More and more firms are conducting cross border

transactions

 Managing resources to attain specific goals in a

foreign country is complex
Cross Culture Skills

 Managers should consider the local culture in

every aspect

 Managerial style effective in one culture will not

necessarily be effective in another
(Rodrigues,1998)

 It is argued that MNE should adapt to the foreign

culture in order to be successful
Hofstede’s Model

1. Power Distance
2. Uncertainty Avoidance
3. Individualism – Collectivism
4. Masculinity- Feminity
5. Long-term vs. short-term orientation (Hofstede
and Bond, 1988)
 Power Distance

The extent to which the less powerful members of

institutions and organizations within a country expect
and accept that power is distributed unequally.

The extent to which a society accepts the unequal

distribution of power in institutions and organizations.
Power distance
High tolerance for power distance

• Senior persons take on the nurturing role

• People respect and learn from others

• Hierarchical relations are seen as necessary

• Leaders are faithfully followed

• Procedures and systems laid down by seniors faithfully

followed
 Power Distance

High Power Distance (E.g. India, Singapore, Brazil)

 High hierarchy levels.
 Power is centralized - Centralized Decision
making.
 Authoritative Leadership Style.
 Subordinates expect rules.
 Wide salary range.
 Manual work has low value
Power Distance

Low Power Distance (E.g. USA, Germany, Finland,

UK)
 Minimize the unequal distribution of power.
 All people have equal rights and should be
interdependent.
 Decentralized organization- Flatter structure &
matrix organizations.
 Consultative decision making.
 Narrow salary range.
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualism ( USA, Australia, France & Italy)
Pertains to societies in which the ties between
individuals are loose i.e. everyone is expected to look
after him/herself and his/her immediate family.

1. Management of individuals.
2. Task prevails over relationship.
3. Contract between employer and employee is based
mutual advantage.
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Collectivism (Spain, Indonesia, Japan)
 Collectivism pertains to societies in which people
from birth join in a strong and cohesive group and they
expect loyalty in exchange for lifelong protection.

1. Management of Group.
2. Relationship prevails over task.
3. Employee- Employer relationship is perceived in
moral terms.
Masculinity Vs. Feminity
Masculinity
Pertains to societies which favour assertiveness,
competitiveness materialism and the desire to achieve
recognition by doing a good job.

1. Managers are expected to be decisive and

assertive.
2. Driven by competition and performance.
3. Resolution of conflicts by fighting them out.
Masculinity vs. Feminity
Feminity ( France & Scandinavian Countries)
 Pertains to societies characterised by consensus
seeking, concern for interpersonal relationship and the
environment and cooperation.

1. Managers use intuition and strive for consensus.

2. Equality, solidarity and Quality of Life.
3. Nurturing role
4. Resolution of conflicts by compromise and
negotiations.
Uncertainty avoidance
The extent to which individuals feel threatened by
uncertain or unknown situations and create institutions
to minimise uncertainty.
Strong Uncertainty Avoidance (Japan, France &
Germany)
1. People feel uneasy in situations of uncertainty.
2. Resistance to innovations.
3. Motivated by security and esteem.
4. Prefer structure and direction.
5. Demand more information before making a decision.
Uncertainty avoidance
Weak Uncertainty Avoidance (Jamaica, Ireland,
Denmark)

1. Uncertainties are taken as being part of life.

2. People relatively tolerant of uncertainty and
ambiguity.
3. Require considerable autonomy and lower structure.
4. Motivated by achievement and esteem.
5. More likely to take risks.
Long Term Orientation
1. Later in 1988, Hofstede and Bond conducted research on the
national culture of East Asian countries including China,
South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
They noted that the national culture of these countries was :
 Completely different from the Western Countries
 Based on Confucian Philosophy, characterized by:
 Relationship with people - Group Orientation
 Loyalty , honesty and obedience
 Respect for tradition
Short Term Orientation (Latin America)
 Societies are more tradition oriented and are more
focused on the present and the past

 Societies are less willing to sacrifice present day

comforts for the sake of future rewards
 Immediate gratification takes precedence over
long term goals and achievements