By Hester VerweySaturday, May 28, 2011

The environment in which we live is described by some as a ‘chaotic open system’. The wordsout of control, chaotic and disasteroccur in the news on a daily basis. A recent search on the search engine, Google, resulted in 3690 000news reports that included the stated words. Leadership opinions and statements were included in 1790 000 of the mentioned news reports. The worldconstantly chooses to either include the opinions of leaders as a source of guidance, or as evidence to cast blame. The question remains: How does leadership respond effectively to these challenges?

J.Oswald Sanders described leadership as a calling or the essential integrated purpose of an individual[1]. Leadership goes beyond position, honour, recognition, right and even fatigue. Business literatureblame leadership for fallacies that are often beyond their control, yet the true leaders of the past have successfully managed to take authority in those situations and provided direction and hope in seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Leadership gurus, Michael Hackman and Craig Johnson,recently boldly stated that leadership and communication is one and the same concept: “Leadership is human(symbolic) communication which modifies the attitudes and behaviours of others in order to meet shared goals and needs”[2].With this slight change in focus from a skill or trait to an internalised identity, the existing communication guidelines that have always been perceived to enhance leadership practices should be revisited to determine their relevance for the twentyfirst century and where it all begins.

Leadership Needs Followership

Modern organisations and leadership can only perform effectively through their followers. Followers that learn to stand up for and to their leaders are essentially seen as the source of future protection of leadership and organisations[3]. Although more and more focus has been placed on the development and empowerment of followers, the crucial role that leader-follower relationships play can never be underestimated.

Self-Determination Theories (SDT)are seen as intrinsic motivators in the shaping of follower behaviour. Leaders that encourage employee participation input and innovation play a critical role in the shaping of followers’ workplace perceptions[4].

Similarly, research on Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) has shownthat positive leader-follower work relationships are predictive of work-relatedoutcomes such as job performance, satisfaction with leadership, commitment, andturnover intentions[5].

Perceived Organisational Support (POS) is the degree to which employees perceivethat their organisations value their contributions and care about their well-being.Leadership is responsible to demonstrate POS through their voluntary, intentional actions towards their followers, which in turn elicit a follower’s sense of obligation and commitment towards theorganisation. POS is so powerful that it encourages followers to personify their organisations and assign them with humanlike characteristics, such as care and loyalty, based on their leaders’ actions towards them[6].

In conclusion, the relationship between employees’ perceptions concerning the quality of their relationshipswith their leaders, their trust in leadership and their own sense of empowerment positively correlates with organisational citizenship behaviours[7].This deep sense of belonging forms the basis for employee self-trust and relationship trust.

Stephen M.R. Covey, son of well-known Stephen Covey, who has established his own platform in the leadership communication environment, appealed to leaders to understand that effective communication builds trust, and leaders who have the ability to create trust are essentially ones who can optimise on the biggest resource shortage of this era, namely the lack of time. The speed at which an individual or group can be mobilised to action change and make decisions, is essentially based on trust in the leader-follower relationship[8].

Focus on Relationship Management Skills

In 1996 Guirdam explained that relationship management will be the key success factor of a new era.He explained that leaders must develop the skills to

(1) understand and interpret the behaviours of others

(2) manage impressions and present themselves competently to others

(3)communicate effectively through different media within the communication cycle to ensure that they get the message across with clarity

(4) persuade others and thus influence their vision, behaviours, opinions, attitudes and beliefs

(5) use power and step into your position of authority

Guirdam’s theories are supported by various existing communication toolkits and models that can assist leaders to adapt their natural styles and enhance their situational leadership traits[9].

Focus on the Individual

Stephen Covey entered the arena with a plea to leaders to regard these toolkits as secondary traits andprimarilydevelop fundamental greatness or goodness in their own characters. The focus on non-judgmentalacceptance of other people was emphasised by the story that Covey told about his son’sinhibited development that changed radically once he learnt to communicate to him that ”we don’t need to protect you, you are fundamentally ok”[10].

Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s beliefs and emotions about his/her ability to deliversuccessfully on a specific task or responsibility. Self-efficacy can lead to lower levels of stress and anxiety and higher levels of performance and is enhanced by positive interactions with others,especially leadership. These interactions should include the communication of positive expectations, support during challenges as well as recognition for achievements[11].

Modern research on issues of diversity and mental models elaborated on reasons why one could fall in the trap of deciding that other people are not “ok”. Primary and secondary dimensions of diversity provide leaders with an understanding of all the differences in human beings that one should be aware of. Primary diversity refers to those traits that cannot be changed,and include culture, gender, age, disability, nationality and sexual orientation. Secondary diversity includes aspects like marital status, religious beliefs, incomeand education[12].

One can deduct that the focus on communication skills should essentially change from a staged performance to genuine care for the other person and a change in theorientation of the heart of the leaders towards the follower. The pressure, under which one needs to perform, makes it impossible, even with a toolkit, to constantly wear a mask.

Focus on the Point of Impact

Honest communication at the point of impact is of utmost importance. A lot of time and energy can be wasted if one discusses issues with the wrong persons or on the wrong forums. Leadership discernment essentially develops over time and with experience, but to understand that business communication requires more planning than social conversation, will enhance leader-follower relationships.

Modern technology provides us with different media to utilise in order to enhance communication. Leadership should however note that there are no shortcuts or indirect method for the communication of sensitive issues,e.g.discipline, performance feedback and proper clarification of expectations. The violation of the perceived psychological contract, where either the leader or the employee feels that expectations were not met, should be managed before damage is done[13].

Focus on Letting-Go of Control

So how does business leaders take control of the essential challenge that leaders have, which is to stay in control? According to Daniel Pink the solution is simple: Let go of control.Pink explained that the business of the 21^st Century will be based on right-brain, holistic abilities and leaders of the future will design anddevelop and mobilise people through empathy, stories, meaning, play and symphony[14].

Differences in age, referred to as the generation gap, has become a critical focus point for leadership. Pink’s theories made provisionfor the appropriate communication styles that equip the Baby Boomers and generation-Xleaders to lead generation-Y, also known as millennials.Millennials are reported to place a high premium on aspects like work-life balance and self-determination theories[15].

The role of the leader should beto assist followers to set targets, provide mentorship and coaching and create a conductive work environment. Autonomy enhancing environments play an important role incontributing to psychological well-being, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and initiative. When needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met by themanager, employees are expected to show more intrinsic motivation and report moresatisfaction in their work, more commitment to their jobs, and less strain.

Focus on Speaking into the Hearts of People

Swiss psychologist,Paul Tournier, once commented as follows:“Listen to allthe conversations in our world, between nations as well as those between couples. They are for the most part dialogues of the deaf.”

Leaders, as the bearers of the vision and mission of the organisation, cannot escape the principle of heart-to-heart communication.Mentorship, as well as coaching relationships, has also been proven to be more effective when it is supported by personal story-telling. Vulnerability is based on trust, and thus will grow deeper as the relationship grows. Relationship guru, Leo Buscaglia, was adamant that we should learn to be vulnerable again. He challenged leadership to expose themselves a little, not in the abuse of people, but in showing them that you really care and that you are human.

In a small book written by John Powell,Why am I afraid to tell you who I am, he indicated that our society has placed great emphasis on being authentic, but weplace masks over our facesto hide the "real" selves and of playing roles that disguise our true and real selves. The truth is that somewhere, inside of each leader and inside of each follower, lurk the real selves[16].

Forgiveness forms an essential part of this vulnerability. Ethical behaviour and meaning is interpreted differently, depending on your worldview, and can often lead to message distortion.Stephen M.R. Covey indicated that it is a myth that once trust is gone, it cannot be regained. Always try to restore trust, particularly when there was no bad intent. Breakdowns can create breakthroughs and mistakes can open opportunities to learn, grow and improve. Changed behaviour can eventually inspire trust again. When followers have violated trust, do not be quick to judge, be quick to forgive[17].

Focus on Research,then Go Global

Companies across the globe are involved in one or another way in global networking and interaction.Leadersthat apply all principles of communication still find themselves challenged by leader-follower relationships across cultures and continents on a daily basis. Researching the target group and country is critical for intercultural sensitivity and relationship management.

In the global context Geert Hofstede has provided leaders with pointers on how to adapt to the differences in cultural dimensions of people in different countries. Thanks to Hofsteede, leaders who work in a global context now also understand that there are different orientations towards power distance, masculinity and femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and individualism in different ethnical context[18].

In Conclusion

Whether you are leading a small company or a global giant, the sustainability of your relationships with followers will essentially provide you with the support system that you will need during times of change, controversy and immense growth. Remember to focus holistically on relationship management skills, the individual, the critical point of impact, letting go of control, speaking into the hearts of people and do your research.

Leadership is the communication of symbols that result in positive mobilisation of action amongst followers.

References