Trine University
Dawn M. Morris
3-22-2020
There are numerous theories on leadership practices that have been developed throughout recorded human history. Some of the theories have gone the wayside as civilizations have become redefined and restructured, and seemingly more modern theories have been developed to coincide with our technological advancements. Some of the central ideas regarding leadership can be related to the following definition: leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish the shared objectives (Militello, 2011). However, there are many different styles of leadership that can be used to accomplish the shared objectives. It can get complicated though since not all leadership styles are suited for every situation or organization; therefore, effective leadership communication is necessary. Next, will be a discussion on several of the best leadership theories and communication practices.
To help understand leadership communication and the theories that surround it, important aspects of two journal articles will be analyzed: Organizational Communication: A Theoretical Discussion; and Efficient Organizational Communication: A Key to Success. The journal article Organizational Communication: A Theoretical Discussion contained numerous examples of leadership communication theories that have developed throughout the past century, while Efficient Organizational Communication: A Key to Success provides statistical analysis and other research findings.
Within the journal article Organizational Communication: A Theoretical Discussion two similar schools of thought, The Theory of Team Based Management and the Communication Dialogical Model, defined what should be considered the most basic effective leadership communication. The Theory of Team Based Management recognizes that multidirectional communication in organizations is essential to for leaders to be able to generate strong and cohesive work groups (De Benedictoet al., 2018, p. 26). The Communication Dialogical Model further expands this theories definition by stating that the best communication is consistent with the reality of the current organizational communication that sees the organization as a living and open system (De Benedicto, et al., 2018, p. 26). Both ideals relate to some of the statistical findings in the journal article Efficient Organizational Communication: A Key to Success. One of the findings that coincide most with these definitions is the following: for a successful manager, communication is an instrument and, at the same time, a state of mind. Studies demonstrate the fact that a successful manager spends about 75-95% of the time talking, listening, writing and citing, thus communicating. Managerial communication is a factor of competitiveness and a strategic advantage of an organization (Todericiu & Fraticiu, 2013, p. 187). Both the theory and model require constant communication throughout the organization for the organizations leadership to be successful, and research has found that indeed successful leadership does spend the majority of its time communicating in some way. The one key piece of information missing from this particular research finding is how much communication is done on the part of others that are not at the management level. The Communication Dialogical Model asks for communication to be seen similar to a living organism where all parts are consistently communicating, however most of the research in the article Efficient Organizational Communication: A Key to Success had been on the management or leadership side of an organization, rather than the general employee. These are not the only ideas contained within these two articles that should be compared and contrasted.
Another important idea is that information management and knowledge based management should be considered by all managers as major functions of leadership and management (Todericiu & Fraticiu, 2013, p. 189). Of course, this means to communicate effectively as a leader the leader must be well informed and knowledgeable about not only how to carry themselves as a leader, but also be knowledgeable about the industry, market, organization, product, and services. This idea does have some relation to the definition given of by the Interpretative Model of Communication. Within the Interpretative Model of Communication organizations are seen as cultures, and in this perspective, the organization is a subjective phenomenon, that is, social action is only possible when people share subjective meanings; furthermore, organizational culture is considered a network of meanings (MARTINO, 2013) (De Benedicto, et al., 2018, p. 28). Essentially, the network of meanings that shapes organizational culture, can also be considered a form of knowledge needed for leadership and managers to operate successfully. Without knowing these perspectives and definitions the organization might fall into chaos since a leader needs to know to communicate to each differing group. This is necessary to get them all to understand the shared organizational objectives. However, while organizational culture is important, not all people might feel genuinely connected to it, but they still might respond well and align themselves with the organization if the management presents them with enough useful information and knowledge. Furthermore, some employees might not find the social aspect of organizational culture as appealing as other attributes the organization has to offer, like benefits and career development.
While there are numerous places for information on the best leadership practices the website, MRG.com has conducted research on how to effectively manage a group or organization. The Management Research Group (MRG) has many reports available on its website for review, and they all have some type of finding that directly relates to the ideas discussed in the articles that were discussed. One of the most important leadership behaviors seen throughout MRG’s research is that thinking and analyzing the impact of decisions prior to acting, in addition to clearly expressing ideas and expectations to employees while still showing genuine concern for them creates a strong positive organizational culture (Management Research Group, 2020). Essentially this means that the best leaders and organizations develop and perfect effective communication practices that permeate throughout all layers of the organization. Successful leadership communication thus can contribute to the overall success and profitability of the organization. If an organization is seeing a lack of profitability, then it should start reanalyzing the effectiveness of the communication channel. Overall, while there are many forms of leadership styles, it can be narrowed down to the effective use of psychology and finding what particular method and style work for a particular organization.
References
Carvalho De Benedicto, S., Sugahara, C. R., Filho, C. F., & Sousa, J. E. (2018, April 09). ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION: A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION. Reuna, 23(1), 20-37. Retrieved March 2020, from https://trineonline.trine.edu/pluginfile.php/2021968/mod_resource/content/1/%E2%80%9COrganizational%20Communication%20A%20Theoretical%20Discussion%E2%80%9D.pdf
Management Research Group. (2020). Leadership Best Practices. Retrieved March 2020, from MRG.com: https://www.mrg.com/resource-hub/research/leadership-best-practices/
Militello, J. (2011, December 19). Leadership Practices Mini MBA Program. Minnesota, United States of America. Retrieved March 2020, from https://youtu.be/ItBlDPditpw
Todericiu, R., & Fraticiu, L. (2013). Efficient Organizational Communication - A Key to Success. The 8th Edition of the International Conference European Integration - Realities and Perspectives, 186-190. Retrieved March 2020, from https://trineonline.trine.edu/pluginfile.php/2021972/mod_resource/content/1/Efficient%20Organizational%20Communication_a%20Key%20to%20Success%20LDR%205223%20LO1.pdf
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