An Active Listener Is A Key Tool For Management And Upcoming Leaders

Indeed, the ability to communicate is essential to being an effective leader. For a true leader must be able to communicate effectively and decisively to all members of an organization. No member of an organization wants to feel like he/she is the last to know, and be forced to reorganize his/her life, especially on the job, at the last minute.

In dealing with senior staff, rank and file employees, superiors, union leaders, elected officials, other city department heads, community and the media. However, communication alone cannot make a leader successful. People value what I say as the result of having an established reputation of caring, competence and credibility. They know that I can be counted on to get the job done and that I am a stickler for following up on issues and holding others accountable. I lead by example and follow the Golden Rule. I have had the ability to think and communicate strategically to lead through complex projects and effectively communicate

: "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." We have all heard that famous quote from a very legendary leader, Winston Churchill. In this particular quote, I believe Churchill puts the emphasis on the aspect of listening. As easy as it is for us to speak our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, is it really as easy to listen? Throughout this paper, I will focus on why listening is important in leadership. I will identify different ways to listen, what effective listening is, and how it can impact leadership.

Exceptional leaders have excellent communication skills regarding subordinates. When Great Britain was in despair, through his inspirational speeches, Winston Churchill encouraged people to have faith in him and to keep on fighting and struggling against the Nazi air raids. He was able to simplify his speeches, which he was able to deliver effective speeches to his nation that all could understand, so the citizens of Britain could familiarize with him

Blanchard, Hersey & Johnson (2015) introduced the concepts pertaining to leadership styles, self-awareness in Chapter 11, and effective communication in Chapter 12. The two main ideas that will be taken away from the lesson review involve the use of feedback, and active listening, which helps in essential communication within the organization and in one’s daily life. When it comes to choosing the right style of leadership that best suits one’s environment within the workplace, things to consider include the experience and skills of the employees, the nature and type of work involved, the organization’s environment, and one own preferred or natural style (Informa, n.d.). With Situational Leadership, Informa (n.d.) states “a good leader will find him or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they deal with” (Informa, n.d.). This paper serves as an analysis of personal and outside perceptions of one’s leadership style. Furthermore, providing an explanation as to how one may leverage the ideas taken from the lessons and incorporate it into the workplace and personal life.

I believe in order to be a great leader you must have excellent communication techniques. There are 10 steps in the first article that lists ways to improve communication in the workplace. These 10 steps are: speak clear and direct, actively listen, paraphrase, face-to-face, be respectful, consider if the message should be spoken or written, effective texting, make the most of meetings, and stay positive. The next article is also on improving communication in the workplace. This article lists a few different steps. The writer believes one must listen more than they speak, ask open ended questions, stay away from yes or no questions, try not to think of the next thing to say, avoid thinking of the perfect rebuttal, give people space to say what they want, listen actively, and listen, listen, listen. The last article I chose was on organizational skills. This article states to be organized you need to make lists, focus and prioritize, delegate, and time

In “Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders” John Baldoni identifies ways in which communication defines leadership. Communications defines leadership by developing and reinforcing the bond of trust, affirming the organizational vision, facilitating a two-way flow or information, creating the impetus for organization effectiveness, and driving results. All of these traits of communication are important for a leader to convey. They allow him or her to inform people, involve everyone, ignite people’s imaginations, and invite participants.

Skills are like weapons for a leader and one important skill for any leader is communication.

A leader’s strength in communicating is enhanced by humor, trust, and ability to listen to other

Communication is discussed in every aspect of course material for this class. Even the differing topics highlight the theory of active listening, which means to strength interpersonal relationships through communication. Fisher and Ury’s book centered on developing principled negotiation skills that would produce win-win situations. (Fisher & Ury, 2011). While a crisis is not always a negotiation situation, they share a similar theory on the use of active listening. It allows managers to build upon feelings of trust, openness, and support that is directly related to positive relationships. Utilizing probing responses during discussions allow for the gaining of knowledge relating to potential problems within an area. Communication skills are needed for a manger’s success because using correctly it can influence the emotions of others. Unknown situations require focusing on the problem at hand while ensure both employees and outside figures that the organization will survive.

In the article Bell, Powell and Sykes began by mentioning that a hallmark of transformational leaders are effective communication skills, and using a coaching and empowering approach to communication is a key component of a transformational leadership style. They went on to state that the transformational approach is increasing workers’ capability to develop and draw on their abilities and increase their confidence.

In fact, Baldwin et al emphasizes how “communication skills are central to success” (). He reinforces the above-mentioned fruits by validating how effective communication means, “hear[ing] other people’s statements from their point of view” (Baldwin et al, 2013, p.184). This type of communication depicts how successful leaders “create meaningful relationships” (Parrott, 2009, p. 41), through love, peace, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. As such, I

Communication is a key component in human relations and plays an important role in uniting people. Conversely, communication can also divide individuals and groups. Relationships are formed, in part, by the interaction style and skill sets that one exhibits when expressing thoughts and beliefs. When two or more people in the workplace are involved in accomplishing a task, communication is the link that connects their thoughts and ideas. This, in turn, leads to the rise of conflict. Being an effective communicator requires forward thinking, adequate and comprehensive use of the language system, interpersonal skills, and receptiveness or positive body language. (Northcentral University, n.d.) In this composition, I will seek to identify and judge my approach in handling conflict with regard to communication skills, interaction style, and group interaction skill sets.

Communication would fall under the good listener category of being a leader. Communication is a key component to being a good listener because if you don’t communicate to whomever you are speaking with then some things might get lost in the process. The leader of a team will have to listen to their boss then relay the message to his or her team, and that’s where paraphrasing takes a good part in communication and listening skills. A good leader is always communicating with other leaders and trying to find out other good ideas they can use to improve some of their techniques.

workplace as well. Communication is an essential skill that we cannot avoid, and should be perfected as a goal in improving your leadership efficiency. When in a leadership role, the leader