CS4L-5

BUS 4040, Communication Skills for Leaders 1

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Interpersonal Skills and

Cross-Cultural Literacy

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Discuss the importance of emotional intelligence. 2. Evaluate emotional intelligence in relation to leadership styles. 3. Explain the importance of self-awareness. 4. Discuss the impact of culture on leader communication. 5. Evaluate the cultural variables applicable across all cultures.

Unit Lesson Understanding Emotional Intelligence Leadership researchers and experienced workers have found that how well a person manages his or her emotions, and those of others, influences leadership effectiveness. For example, being able to recognize anger in yourself and others, and being able to empathize with people, can help you be more effective at exerting influence as a leader. Emotional intelligence refers to qualities such as understanding one’s feelings, having empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions to improve living. This type of intelligence generally describes one’s ability to connect with people and understand their emotions. Daniel Goleman discovered that the most effective leaders are alike in one essential way: they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence. According to Goleman (1995), without a high degree of emotional intelligence, a person can have excellent training, superior analytical skills, and lots of innovative suggestions. However, he or she still may not make a good leader. Factors affecting emotional intelligence, such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills can have a direct impact on the level of leader effectiveness. Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Styles Exhibit 7.2 (Barrett, 2011) outlines the leadership styles identified by Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee (2002), and delineates how different styles can impact how leaders communicate with employees. When a leadership style is appropriate for the organizational culture, the effect on the climate of the organization is positive and the resulting resonance, or the bringing about of everyone’s best, is favorable. This situation is illustrated in the visionary, coaching, affiliative, and democratic styles. In contrast to resonance, dissonance occurs when the leader’s communication style is not effective within the organization. Even though both the pacesetting and the commanding approaches have a place within organizations, they should be used cautiously by the leader and only in situations when they are needed to achieve a short-term result.

Reading Assignment Chapter 7: Leading Productive Meetings Chapter 8: Cross-Cultural Literacy and Communication

Presentation Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders

Supplemental Reading See information below.

Supplemental Website See information below.

Key Terms None

BUS 4040, Communication Skills for Leaders 2

Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness Self-awareness is the ability we have to understand our moods, emotions, and needs, as well as their impact on others. Effective leaders seek feedback to see how well their actions are being received by others. A leader with good self- awareness would recognize whether he or she was liked, or whether he or she was exerting the right amount of pressure on employees. One way of increasing one’s self-awareness is through completion of a personality profile. The Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most popular as it identifies an individual’s personality characteristics based on responses to questions and provides feedback about the results. Based on their responses, individuals are classified as either extraverted (E) or introverted (I), sensing (S) or intuitive (I), thinking (T) or feeling (F), and judging (J) or perceiving (P). Although the MBTI has been widely criticized regarding its validity, it can have a place in organizations. It can be helpful in training and development as it can help employees better understand themselves, and help team members understand each other. Nonverbal Skills Effective leaders are able to communicate successfully both verbally and nonverbally. Nonverbal communication is important because leadership involves emotion, which only words cannot communicate strongly. A self-confident leader not only speaks and writes with assurance, but also projects confidence through body position, gestures, and manner of speech. Not everybody interprets the same body language and other nonverbal signals in the same way, but some aspects of nonverbal behavior project a self-confident, leadership image in most situations. Understanding Culture A major communication challenge facing leaders and managers is to overcome communication barriers created by dealing with people from different cultures and subcultures. In today’s workplace, leaders communicate with people from other countries, as well as with a more diverse group of people in their own country. Barrett (2011) discusses variables which are related to all cultures. A major underlying factor in overcoming cross-cultural communication barriers is to understand attributions, or the judgments that we make about the behavior and attitudes of others. Connecting and Communicating Across Cultures In addition to being aware of the role of attributions, the leader attempting to communicate with members of a different culture should also follow certain guidelines. Being sensitive to the fact that cross-cultural communication barriers exist, and being alert to cultural differences in values, attitudes, and etiquette will result in more effective communication with people from different cultures. Be aware that the assumptions you make about another group may not necessarily be incorrect, but stopping to challenge those assumptions may facilitate communication. Showing respect for all workers promotes good cross-cultural relations, as well as, helping to overcome communication barriers. Finally, speaking in an easy-to-understand manner is critical when working with people who do not speak your language fluently. Always use straightforward language, and speak slowly and clearly.

BUS 4040, Communication Skills for Leaders 3

References Barrett, D. J. (2011). Leadership communication (3rd ed.). New York, NY:

McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R, & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership. Boston, MA:

Harvard Business School Press.

Supplemental Reading Usunier, J., & Roulin, N. (2010, April). The influence of high- and low-context

communication styles on the design, content, and language of business- to-business web sites. Journal of Business Communication, 47(2), 189-227.

Supplemental Website An interactive version of the Myers Briggs Personality Quiz (MBTI):

http://richardstep.com/myers-briggs-mbti-personality-quiz/