Introduction
Oftentimes, misguided individuals believe that knowledge and the willingness to share this knowledge with others is the key to successful leadership. However, what is often overlooked is the value of possessing effective communication skills to build relationships among one’s peers and leaders. For without the possession of effective communication skills one may find it difficult to not only succeed but also advance in the work place. Specifically in the field of education, where leaders are faced daily with challenging tasks, commitments, and deadlines, having effective communication skills is detrimental in creating a positive school climate in which teachers and staff members optimize student academic achievement.
Article Analysis
There is a direct correlation between leadership and communication. Based on a comprehensive study involving six schools and 208 participants, Halawah (2005) reports a school’s climate is positively associated with the principal’s ability to effectively communicate. These principals are respected for their ability to lead by example, to communicate clearly, to demonstrate caring for all, and to follow through with reprimands and punishments for faculty, staff, and students. In all six schools, the principal’s actions and words were aligned with the schools’ mission and vision in an effort to increase student achievement. Lastly, this reports points out that all principals have open communication with staff and faculty members for the purpose of building relationships to assign leadership opportunities and delegate tasks.
Due to a leader’s inability to single-handedly complete every task, honor every commitment, and meet every deadline, building relationships are critical to...
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...nsure that the school climate is one that optimizes student academic achievement.
References
Adams, S. (2013). How to communicate effectively at work. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/11/19/how-to-communicate-effectively- at-work-3/
Halawah, I. (2005). The relationship between effective communication of high school principal and school climate. Education, 126(2), 334-345.
Hensley, P. & Burmeister, L. (2008). Leadership connectors: A theoretical construct for building relationships. Educational Leadership and Administration: Teacher and Program
Development, v20 125-134.
MindTools.com (2013). How good are your communication skills? Speaking, listening, writing, and reading effectively. Mind Tools: Essential skills for an excellent career. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_99.htm
Gorton and Alston (2012) pointed out in Chapter One that effective leaders “provide direction and meaning, generate and sustain trust, display an eagerness to take action, and spread hope”, through motivating and empowering others to reach the desired goals (pp. 7-9). Thus administrators must be skilled communicators, attentive and responsive listeners. Meanwhile they must also be able to build relationships with others, multitask, prioritize, delegate wisely, relate to, and motivate others. Reading that both the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Association of School Administrators have noted the importance of communication to the school system's success (p. 101), has affirmed for this student that the need for outside assistance with communication is indeed a serious concern for administrators.
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2008). The leadership challenge. (4th Ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Communication is truly complex, indeed, as there is a multitude of various methods in which to converse with other individuals. For instance, sociologist Anne Donnellon devised a technique (pertinent to groups and teams), which she refers to as "team talk." Moreover, Donnellon created the concept as an ideal form of discourse amongst team members. Exemplifying, Engleberg & Wynn (2013) provide insight into the six dimensions of team talk, which include the following:
First there was nothing, then there was something. The transparent being woke up to a bed of stone. Slowly it rose until it saw a bright shining light and a semi-transparent blue box with some squiggly lines. After looking hard at the box, and trying very hard to not look at the bright ball behind the box, like a lens coming into focus, it all suddenly made complete sense.
This paper will explore communication strategies associated with effective leadership and address what Ben Williams will need to do differently to communicate effectively as a leader. “Leadership requires the ability to listen, to speak to, and to direct individuals in a manner productive for all involved, including for the organization” (Gorkman, 2009). The communication strategies I will discuss are as follows: 1) Verbal Communication, 2) Presenting, Communicating Goals and Educating Employees and 3) Critical Thinking. I will explain the importance of
On a daily basis, leaders are expected to communication on both a business and professional level. As stated by Solaja, Idowu, and James (2016) “today’s leaders must acquire effective communication skills for public speaking, listening and critical thinking in order to promotes organizational performance and cordial relationship between the organization and the external public” (p. 100). At the same time, internal communication with upper management, peers, and subordinates require the same level of information exchange.
Many times our first thoughts regarding educational leadership are turned to our first experiences as a child. For most, this individual is the school principal. Teachers and students may have a skewed view of this authority figure. He or she is often the focal point of decision-making and discipline. The principal is the singular driving force that combines teachers with their colleagues and students with their teachers and peers (Goldring, 2...
Communication is an essential component for effective leadership and management. Without it, the organization will struggle carry out their mission. Simply communicating is not enough. Effective communication hinges on the clarity of the message. As Popovic and Hocenski (2009) stated, a “Leader must be able to communicate clearly to others in a language that they can understand on all levels in an organization, from the most unskilled worker through to the Chief Executive” (pp. 15-16). There are a lot of elements that can affect one’s ability to accomplish that. A small, but distinctly important, few are discussed in the following paragraphs.
Communication is considered to be a two way process, which involves at least two people sharing information (Higgs, Sefton, Street, McAlister & Hay, 2005). It can occur through speech or vocalisation (e.g. crying), non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and through written or other material forms such as pictures (O’Toole, 2012). Communication is considered effective when the intended meaning of the conveyed message is received and understood by the both parties and a point of common understanding is reached (O’Toole, 2012). The goal of effective communication between an Occupational Therapist (OT) and a client is to ultimately deliver an intervention that creates positive participation in occupations that in turn leads to an improvement of health and well-being in the client. This goal is best achieved through the application of client-centered practice, which is accomplished by the development of both mutual understanding and a therapeutic relationship (O’Toole, 2012).
Chapter one of Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals opens with one of the most influential traits of what an effective principal should possess, the communication trait. To be successful in any venue in life, you must be able to communicate with people; this is especially true in the education world. Principals are responsible for communicating with people in all walks of life, parents, students, teacher, administrative office personnel and the general public, as an administrator, you must make each of these individuals feel a sense of trust and belonging while communicating with them. Principals use conversations and gesture to build confidence and open lines of communication for learning and growth.
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...
Communication plays a key role to a leader. To have communication skills is to have the ability to express oneself clearly to others. It is extremely important as...
Communication is a very important aspect in leadership. It involves the ability of managers and other leaders in an organization to engage employees through effective listening and understanding of any issues that may be making it difficult for them to realize their full potential. The need for good communication capabilities in the workplace is to make sure that leaders give employees enough time to air their opinions before any binding directions are made. It is always necessary for leaders to remain mindful of the manner in wh...
Communication is one of the most important factors in our lives. It dictates the relationships formed with the individuals in personal and professional lives. Effective communication provides a foundation for trust and respect to grow. It also helps better understand a person and the context of the conversation. Individuals often believe that their communication skills are much better than what they actually are. Communication appears effortless; however, much of what two people discuss gets misunderstood, thus leading to conflicts and distress. To communicate effectively, one must understand the emotion behind the information being said. Knowing how to communicate effectively can improve relationships one has at home, work and in social affairs. Understanding communication skills such as; listening, non-verbal communication and managing stress can help better the relationships one has with others.
As mentioned before, leadership styles take an important role in running a school. Unfortunately, many principals have not yet defined their leadership style and struggle to administrate their school. They are responsible not only of teachers and students, but of every employee in the school. They have the power to control all the resources available to improve and meet academic goals. Despite their power, principals need to identify appropriate leadership styles to succeed as