Leadership and Communications

Leadership Communication

Levels of Leadership

Generally, the role and focus of a leader depends on the level at which they work. Organizations have four levels of leadership:

Leader of Organizations—These leaders are primarily concerned with providing the vision, direction, and resources to guide the organization into the future.

Leaders of Leaders—Those leading at this level exercise direct leadership over subordinate leaders and indirect leadership over the organization below them.

Leader of People—Those leading on this level exercise the direct, face-to-face supervisory skills required to accomplish tasks and facilitate team building.

Follower—As a team member, a future leader develops a foundation of values, character, and proficiency. You cannot learn to be an effective leader until you have learned to be a good follower. For this reason, leaders must strive to build good followership skills in their team members.

Although the basic principles of leadership are the same at each level, the way that they are applied and the techniques that must be used are different, depending upon where in the organization a leader is working. It is not uncommon for a leader to be in three or four categories at the same time.

Communication—The Tool of Leadership

Communication represents the how of leadership. You cannot lead unless you can communicate. Communication is to the leader what water is to the body.

Communication is the exchange of information and ideas. Effective communication occurs when others understand precisely what you are trying to tell them, and you understand exactly what they are trying to tell you.

Effective communication creates the kinds of bonds that allow your unit to follow you and act appropriately as they carry out their mission. It is the glue for teamwork and unit activity.

For communication to be effective, the role of the sender and receiver must switch frequently. After receiving a message, the listener acknowledges the message by providing feedback. Feedback can be sent verbally or non-verbally.

The message that you communicate is not just the words you speak. The packaging of your communication—your tone, voice, body language, and gestures all combine to communicate your message to the listener.

You must win your unit’s trust and confidence before going on a mission. How and what you communicate can enhance or damage the strength of the relationship between you and your people. Unit discipline and cohesion depend on the strength of this relationship.

Effective communication implies that your team listens to and understands you. Because people listen to leaders who listen to them, you must work hard at listening to your team. Becoming a skilled listener is hard work and takes constant practice.

Command Climate

Command climate is different than organizational culture.

Organizational culture refers to the environment of the larger institution or agency.

Command climate refers to the environment within the influence of a particular leader or chain of command. Command climate describes the atmosphere that the leader creates to lead the team within the operational environment.

Subordinates share a perception of the command climate based on their understanding of how they are expected to perform, how they expect to be treated, and how they must conform to their leaders’ individual styles and personalities.

Healthy command climate is essential to the unity of command of the leadership team and for unified effort within the staff. When subordinates look at the leadership team, they look for several indicators to determine whether or not they can trust the chain of command.

A unified leadership team sends a powerful message. When all members of the leadership follow the same priorities and go out of their way to reinforce the commander’s intent through their actions and words, people in the field develop a strong sense of trust for the team. Unity of command dispels the propensity to second-guess command decisions as subordinates recognize that the leadership team moves as one and is solidly in charge.

Command climate also directly impacts an organization’s ability to recover from error. An unhealthy command climate can stifle communication and inhibit resources from reporting problems. Good communication and interaction among the team and leaders are the first line of defense against error chains.

A healthy command climate empowers subordinate leaders to exercise individual initiative and take appropriate risks and actions when the situation requires. At times, on dynamic assignments, centralized control becomes impossible or communications are lost.

A command climate that reinforces a zero defect mentality creates conditions in which people tend to wait for guidance before taking action, often losing the opportunity to gain ground on the situation or even maintain control.

Command Presence

More than anything else, command presence sets the tone for command climate. Command presence describes how a leader presents himself or herself to others—the myriad of personal attributes and behaviors that communicate that the leader is worthy of trust and respect.

A leader’s character is the foundation upon which command presence is built. People’s perception of their leader’s character begins the moment they begin interacting. Leaders reveal their character in every interaction, and their character shapes and permeates the command presence they project.

People in an organization are constantly sizing up the situation and their leader. They are quick to pick up on any disconnect between what the leader says and does.

Another component of command presence—demeanor—communicates volumes to others. Dress, body language, and poise all play a large part in the image and message projected. Effective leaders project an image that is calm, organized, and focused on success.

Constancy in demeanor provides a strong anchor point upon which unit members can key their behaviors. It minimizes hesitancy and uncertainty because a consistent demeanor modulates overreaction to changes and new situations.

Imagine a pendulum hanging from a string. Unintended agitation occurs at the top of the string when a leader’s character or stress reactions affect their ability to clearly articulate their intent and make effective decisions. Vacillation occurs when the leadership team is not unified or sends out conflicting messages.

The smallest movement at the top of the string causes the pendulum to swing dramatically, affecting the arc and speed of the mass at the bottom.

The people and the resources at the ground level find themselves trying to keep up and react to the erratic changes in the pendulum’s speed and direction. This confusion creates the perception that the leadership team can’t get its act together and contributes to a negative perception of the leader.

Consistency provides a strong anchor point from which others can key their behaviors. It minimizes the swinging of the pendulum and inspires confidence in the leaders’ abilities.

The Sun Tzu factors apply directly to the behavior of leaders through a leader’s most challenging aspect of duty: know yourself.

· Known versus Unknown

· Can Control versus Cannot Control

· Strengths versus Weaknesses

· Danger versus Opportunity

Recognizing your abilities and limitations, seeking out feedback, learning from mistakes, knowing where to improve and when to seek out others with complimentary strengths—these are all behaviors crucial to leadership success and directly affect the command presence that you convey.

Creating an Effective Command Climate

An effective command climate builds mutual trust and respect and allows subordinate leaders to show initiative and take appropriate actions as the situation requires.

It also creates an environment where people feel comfortable raising issues that may be problems and engaging in healthy debate over potential courses of action.

First Impressions

A leader’s ability to create a positive first impression is the essential first step in establishing a healthy command climate.

When first stepping into any new situation or meeting someone new, people immediately start gathering information, making observations, and becoming oriented to the new situation or person.

The process is circular: while you formulate your first impression, others are formulating their first impression of you.

A leader makes an impression continuously through verbal and non-verbal communication and both conscious and subconscious behavior.

Once an initial perception is formed, it is difficult to change. Whether that impression is accurate or fair does not really matter. As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

From this first impression and those that follow, leaders set the tone and tempo of command. A leader creates situation awareness of themselves in others.

Managing Fear

Effective leaders pay close attention to the effect of fear on subordinates.

If subordinates avoid confrontation or conflict, fail to speak up when they notice something wrong, or fail to take the initiative when appropriate, the team loses its ability to identify and mitigate errors.

This risk-averse climate is common unless a leader proactively creates a healthy command climate that reduces organizational fear.

A leader’s own fears also can have an enormous impact on his or her effectiveness. A fear of responsibility, fear of failure, anxiety over the media—all these fears and others can cause a leader to over-delegate or become distant. Leaders have the duty to identify and mitigate the impacts of their own fears.

Communication

Communication is the primary tool used to establish command climate. First impressions and managing fear—these depend on the leader’s effectiveness as a communicator. The ability to communicate is universally rated as one of the most important leadership behaviors in any survey on leadership.

Communication is the foundation that builds trust and enables a unit to develop cohesion. Communication allows a leader to communicate objectives and intent. Communication breaks error chains. Communication increases situation awareness.

Human interaction is the engine of an effective team, and communication is the oil that minimizes friction and allows the parts to function effectively.

Sources of Power

Leaders can draw from several sources of power:

· Position Power

· Reward Power

· Discipline Power

· Expert Power

· Respect Power

Being able to use the appropriate source of power is a component of situational leadership. Your ability to read the situation and apply the appropriate source of power enhances your ability to create an effective command climate.

Leadership Styles

Choosing a leadership style—directing, participating, or delegating—depends on a number of factors:

· Time available

· Values at risk

· Information available

· Clarity of objectives

· Standardization

· Stability of conditions

· Level of coordination

· Experience of resources

Your choice of leadership style directly impacts how people respond to you and, ultimately, how well the operation runs.

In simple terms, the power paradox describes the seeming contradiction that you gain power by giving it away.

If you allow subordinates’ control over and input into the mechanisms that control their lives it strengthens your ability to lead them: Involvement increases commitment.

If you want respect as a leader, give respect to subordinates. If you want the trust of your subordinates, give trust to them first. Gauging the Command Climate

· Leaders must constantly update their own situation awareness regarding the command climate. The following are characteristic of an effective command climate:

· Clear priorities and objectives

· Unified leadership team

· Clearly stated standards and expectations

· Consistency in holding people accountable

· Willingness to admit error and to learn from mistakes

· Willingness to seek and act upon feedback from subordinates

· Willingness to delegate authority

· Willingness to recognize and address stress and negative conflict

· Good role models who set the example

· Open communication

· Leaders must have their finger on the pulse of the operation to recognize failures in any of these areas and to correct errors at their starting point.

Summary

· Command climate describes the atmosphere that the leader creates to lead the team within the operational environment. When subordinates look at the leadership team, the command climate enables them to determine whether or not they can trust the chain of command.

· A leader’s character is the foundation upon which command presence is built. Leaders reveal their character in every interaction, and their character shapes and permeates the command presence they project.

· Recognizing your abilities and limitations, seeking out feedback, learning from mistakes, knowing where to improve and when to seek out others with complimentary strengths—these are all behaviors crucial to leadership success and directly affect the command presence that you convey.

· An effective command climate builds mutual trust and respect and allows subordinate leader s to show initiative and take appropriate actions as the situation requires.

· This risk-averse climate is common unless a leader proactively creates a healthy command climate that reduces organizational fear.

· Communication is the primary tool used to establish command climate. The ability to communicate is universally rated as one of the most important leadership behaviors in any survey on leadership.

· Strange as it seems, great leaders gain authority by giving it away.

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