Article Review of Leaderships Is a Conversation

Copyright © 2011 Harvard Business School Publishing This document is for use only with the Harvard Business Publishing ‘Case

Another article, co-authored by Heather C. Vough (University of Cincinnati’s Lindner College of Business), Christine D. Bataille (Ithaca College School of

In Susan Tardanio’s Forbes Magazine article, “5 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators”, she tries to demonstrate how important communication skills are for people to be successful leaders. This article is intended to help individuals who are interested in honing their leadership skills, particularly while in a business setting.

write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be

Edwin Van Dusen, Brian Fox and David Welch (MBAs 2004) prepared this document under the supervision on Professor Sonia Marciano. Copyright © 2003 by the Kellogg School of Management. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the permission of the Kellogg School of Management.

It is essential for business leaders to have excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills, as leaders are often a symbol of a company’s integrity and this affects not only how customers perceive the company, but also impacts the thoughts and actions of lower positioned employees. For example, a leader that speaks using improper grammar, or writes correspondence with spelling errors throughout it, could project a negative image that can be harmful to a company. Customers might conclude that the leader is incompetent and they might decide that they do not wish to purchase goods from a company that hires inept leaders. Furthermore, employees might become less apt to respect an authority that appears to be uneducated, as well as employees might feel that if the leader disregards using proper communication than it is not necessary for them to use it either. Business leaders need to know when to listen, when to talk, and how to share ideas effectively. Clear and concise communication states exactly how, who, what, and when and serves to guide, direct, protect, persuade, and to inform. Communication is essential for decreasing miscommunications and for increasing productivity, motivation, and efficiency. When someone uses effective communication, he or she is more apt to have favorable results and his or her requests will become granted more often. Furthermore, communication builds goodwill. Having excellent communication skills is

Some people are of the belief that the way a leader communicates is dependent upon his or her age/generation. I fully agree with this statement. In this paper, I evaluate the truth in this statement (with proof) by first describing the characteristics of my generation in regard to leadership and communication. I do this by using specific examples and reasons. Also evaluated is whether technology and the Information Age play a role in how leaders today communicate. The paper also investigates if there are basic communication skills that are needed and used in all generations of leadership.

“Secrets are lies.” Most companies, especially Tech companies, think transparency in the workplace is vital in keeping their company on the cutting edge and moving forward. The idea of not sharing ones ideas for the “good of all” is considered, in The Circle, being deceitful or dishonest. Would this concept, if implemented fully in the real world, be detrimental to our society? My answer is a resounding, yes. If these ideas were to come to fruition, we would be in constant wonder if others were telling us the truth. While top ranking officials, in the case of The Circle company, the Three Wise Men, want total transparency from their employees; they themselves are not willing to do the same. Doing so would force them to give up power and control. “Well, when there’s something kept secret, two things happen. One is that it makes crimes possible. We behave worse when we’re not accountable. That goes without saying. And second, secrets inspire speculation. When we don’t know what’s being hidden, we guess, we make up answers.” In the conversation between Bailey, who is one

“The growing corporate espionage activities due to intense competition lead to highly controlling security measures and intensive employee monitoring which bring about distrust in the workplace”

Dennnis Tourish and Owen Hargie (2004, p. 132) argue that communication is "still regarded as something that managers do to their subordinates; they drop information like depth charges on to those employees submerged in the organisational ocean but make it very clear that they do not expect to receive any feedback torpedoes in return." While their assessment may certainly be understandable, it is by no means the last and final word on workplace communication. On the contrary, maintaining a healthy flow of communication in the workplace is essential for optimal working conditions and communication can be seen as a two-way street. This paper will show how it is possible to have a flowing exchange of information between managers and subordinates by eliminating intimidating factors and opening avenues to positive exchange.

Michael holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

For this discussion, select two articles related to your final project literature review. Categorize the articles as to whether they use a qualitative or quantitative methodology. If possible, select one article that uses each method. In your initial post, provide a citation and a brief summary of the methodology used to study leadership in the articles. Provide your critical analysis of the articles and methodology and assess the contributions of each particular research methodology to understanding your leadership topic. Share your thoughtful view of why you believe quantitative research has predominated, as well as your views as to the use of qualitative research to uncover new ways of thinking about leadership.

Required Resources Boone, L. E. & Kurtz, D. L. (2012 Update). Contemporary business (14th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. WileyPLUS access code. Note: Students are emailed a

While it is unrealistic to assume that every leader are an expert communicator, corporate boards need to tie conversational leadership to the mission, strategy, and goals of the organization. They need to foster a more rigorous approach to ensure that CEOs and management team have the right tool for engagement practices to communicate tangible opportunities for employees to influence incentives. As Groysberg and Slind say, “a productive conversation is a source of sustainable competitive advantage, if you can have good conversations in a company, you can actually achieve a lot.” People thrive on information; leaders’ ability to effectively convey their thoughts to others is paramount to organizational success and performance.

 2009, Icfai Center for Management Research. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be