Leadership.

Leadership is action, not position. —Donald McGannon

OVERVIEW Leadership: At the Core of Human Experience Defining Leadership

The Nature of Human Communication The Human Communication Process Leadership: A Special Form of Human Communication Leaders vs. Managers The Question of “Bad” Leadership The Leader/Follower Relationship

Viewing Leadership from a Communication Perspective Willingness to Communicate Storytelling as Leadership Emotional Communication Competencies Playing to a Packed House: Leaders as Impression Managers

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2 Chapter One

Leadership: At the Core of Human Experience Leadership attracts universal attention. Historians, philosophers, and

social scientists have attempted to understand and to explain leadership for centuries. From Confucius to Plato to Machiavelli, many of the world’s most renowned thinkers have theorized about how people lead one another.1 One reason for the fascination with this subject lies in the very nature of human experience. Leadership is all around us. We get up in the morning, open the newspaper, turn on our computer, radio, or television, and discover what actions leaders all over the world have taken. We attend classes, work, and interact in social groups—all with their own distinct patterns of leadership. Our daily experiences with leadership are not that different from the experi- ences of individuals in other cultures. Leadership is an integral part of human life in rural tribal cultures as well as in modern industrialized nations. Looking at your past leadership efforts can help to provide a good starting point for understanding why the success of leadership often varies so significantly. Iden- tify your own best and worst leadership moments and what you can learn from these experiences by completing the self-assessment exercise in box 1.1.

Followers prosper under effective leaders and suffer under ineffective lead- ers whatever the context: government, corporation, church or synagogue, school, athletic team, or class project group. The study of leadership, then, is more than academic. Understanding leadership has practical importance for all of us. (See the case study in box 1.2 for a dramatic example of how important leadership can be.) In this text we will examine leadership in a wide variety of situations. However, our perspective remains the same—leadership is best understood from a communication standpoint. As Gail Fairhurst and Robert Sarr explain, effective leaders use language as their most tangible tool for achieving desired outcomes.2 Let’s begin our exploration of leadership by con- sidering the special nature of human communication and the unique qualities of leadership.

Defining Leadership As we have noted, leadership is a fundamental element of the human con-

dition. Wherever society exists, leadership exists. Any definition of leadership must account for its universal nature. Leadership seems to be linked to what it means to be human. As communication specialists, we believe that what makes us unique as humans is our ability to create and manipulate symbols.

I take leadership to signify the act of making a difference. —Michael Useem

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Leadership and Communication 3

Box 1.1 Self-Assessment Your Best and Worst Leadership Moment3

Everyone has enjoyed leadership success at some point. At some time—whether in high school, college, on the athletic field, in a community or religious group, or at work—we have all made things happen through other people. We have all been leaders. Looking back over your life, what is the experience that you are most proud of as a leader? Use the space below to capture the details of that moment.

Just as all of us have enjoyed success, we’ve also experienced the pain of leadership failure. Learning to be a leader requires looking back and learning from past mistakes so that you don’t repeat errors. What was your most disappointing experience as a leader? Record your thoughts in the space below.

Given the best and worst leadership experiences you identified, consider the lessons you have learned about leadership in the past. In working through this assessment it can be very helpful to share your leadership stories with others so that you have a richer set of examples from which to compile a list of leadership lessons. The lessons learned from past leadership experiences might be things like: It is difficult to succeed as a leader when followers are not motivated; leadership works best when you have a clear sense of direction; or a leader must be sure his or her message is under- stood to ensure followers stay involved. Try to identify 10 leadership lessons your experiences (and, if possible, those of others) have provided.

Leadership Lessons 1.

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Box 1.2 Case Study Death and Heroism on the Savage Mountain4

Mountaineers call K2 the Savage Mountain. The world’s second tallest peak, K2 claims a greater percentage of climbers (1 in 3) than Mt. Everest, the world’s tallest mountain (1 in 10). Fewer than 300 climbers have topped K2 as compared to over 3,000 on Mt. Everest. The Savage Mountain is not only steeper and harder to climb than Mt. Everest; its location further north makes it even more susceptible to bad weather. There are only a few days when high winds and snow abate, allowing climbers to attempt to reach the summit at over 27,000 feet.

In summer 2008, ten expeditions made up of members from Serbia, the United States, France, South Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Nepal, and Pakistan huddled in their small tents at the high- est camp on K2 waiting for the weather to break. Because so many people were on the mountain, team leaders knew they had to coordinate their efforts, particularly to navigate the Bottleneck. The Bottleneck is a narrow, sheer section of trail that requires climbers to go single file. At the Bot- tleneck, a slow climber can delay all those who follow. Team leaders agreed that on the day of the summit one group would go first and lay out ropes for the other teams to use as they ascended and descended the Bottleneck. Another group would put willow wands in the snow to mark the path back to camp.

On August 1 the weather cleared and 20 climbers launched their mass assault on the summit. Problems arose almost immediately. The lead team didn’t have enough rope and started to lay rope too soon so that there wasn’t enough to reach the top of the Bottleneck. The wands weren’t planted. The only climber to have previously made it to the top took sick and couldn’t summit. Some groups were slow to start and, as feared, a cluster of climbers got stuck below the Bottle- neck, waiting to ascend. A Serbian fell to his death during the initial ascent and another climber died while trying to retrieve his body.

Descending in darkness is highly dangerous, as is bivouacking at 27,000 feet without shelter in intense cold. To avoid these dangers, climbers should have turned back by 2 PM. Instead, most pressed on to the top, not reaching their goal until much later. Eighteen reached the top—a K2 record—with the last team arriving at 7 PM. As a result, some decided to stop for the night while others made their way back down the mountain. That’s when disaster struck. A huge overhang- ing piece of ice broke off. Tumbling through the Bottleneck, it buried one climber and scoured away the ropes. Subsequent icefalls and avalanches, as well as the elements, disorientation, and deadly climbing conditions, would take additional lives. The total death toll was 11, making this one of the worst mountaineering disasters ever.

While nothing could have prevented the huge icefall, the loss of life was greater than it should have been. To begin, members of the various expeditions never bonded but instead remained strangers. They had difficulty communicating with each other because of language differences and operated independently. Members of some teams were highly critical of the preparation and skills of those on other teams. This apparently contributed to a disregard for human life when the crisis struck. Far too many ignored those in need, failing to offer assistance to those likely to per- ish. According to a Dutch survivor, “Everybody was fighting for himself and I still do not under- stand why everybody were leaving each other.”

Summit fever drove many to continue to climb when they should have turned back, putting them at high risk. So close to reaching their goal, they feared that they would never have another chance to reach their objective. Some had corporate sponsors and felt additional pressure to sum- mit. The high altitude porters had an incentive to support their efforts because they would earn a $1000 bonus if their clients succeeded. Those on the mountain also became too dependent on the ropes, even though the peak can be successfully climbed without them. In fact, the first climber to summit and successfully descend that day did so using only his personal alpine gear.

Sherpa are often overlooked in tales of mountaineering, which focus on the exploits of Euro- pean and North American alpinists. However, Sherpa climbers earned international recognition as the heroes of the K2 disaster. Pemba Sherpa repeatedly left the safety of camp to assist

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Leadership and Communication 5

The Nature of Human Communication Communication theorist Frank Dance defines symbols as abstract, arbi-

trary representations of reality agreed upon by human users.5 For example, there is nothing in the physical nature of this book that mandates labeling it a “book.” We have agreed to use this label, or symbol, to represent a bound col- lection of pages; this agreement is purely arbitrary. The meaning of a symbol, according to Leslie White, does not come from the intrinsic properties of the idea, concept, or object being represented. The value is “bestowed upon it by those who use it.”6 Words are not the only symbols we use; we attach arbitrary meanings to many nonverbal behaviors as well. Looking someone in the eye symbolizes honesty to many North Americans. However, making direct eye contact in some other cultures is considered an invasion of privacy. Meaning is generated through communication.

[Humans] differ from the apes, and indeed all other living creatures so far as we know, in that [they are] capable of symbolic behavior. With words, [humans] create a new world, a world of ideas and philosophies.

—Leslie White

Communication is based on the transfer of symbols, which allows individ- uals to create meaning. As you read this text, the words we have written are transferred to you. The meanings of these words are subject to your interpre- tation. It is our goal to write in a way that allows for clear understanding, but factors such as your cultural background, your previous experience, your level of interest, and our writing skills influence your perception of our message.

stranded climbers. Pasang Lama gave his ice axe to another climber while above the Bottleneck. When his colleague Chhiring Dorje saw his plight, he climbed back up to help. Chhiring roped himself to Pasang and they descended step by step to safety. Two other Sherpa lost their lives in an avalanche after they ascended to assist three Korean climbers tangled in rope.

The disaster on the Savage Mountain illustrates the high cost of ineffective and unethical leadership and followership. However, these events also demonstrate how individuals can make a life-and-death difference when they put aside selfish concerns to help others.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever followed a leader in a high-risk situation? How did you determine that this per- son was worthy of your trust?

2. Have you ever been the leader in a high-risk activity? How did you approach this task?

3. Have you ever let pursuit of a goal override your common sense and put you in danger? How can you prevent this from happening again?

4. What steps, if any, could have been taken to prevent the disaster on K2 or to lessen the death toll?

5. Why do some people, like the Sherpa on K2, rise to the challenge of a crisis while others do not?

6. What leadership and followership lessons do you take from the disaster on K2?

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6 Chapter One

The goal of communication is to create a shared reality between message sources and receivers.

The human ability to manipulate symbols allows for the creation of reality. Simply labeling someone as “motivated” or “lazy,” for example, can lead to changes in behavior. Followers generally work hard to meet the high expecta- tions implied in the “motivated” label; they may lower their performance to meet the low expectations of the “lazy” label. This phenomenon, discussed in detail in chapter 8, is known as the Pygmalion effect.

Symbols not only create reality but also enable us to communicate about the past, present, and future. We can evaluate our past performances, analyze current conditions, and set agendas for the future. In addition, symbolic com- munication is purposive and goal driven. We consciously use words, gestures, and other symbolic behaviors in order to achieve our goals. The purposeful nature of human communication differentiates it from animal communication.7

The communication patterns of animals are predetermined. For example, wolves normally travel in small groups known as packs. Dominance within the pack is predetermined based on such characteristics as size, physical strength, and aggressiveness. Humans, on the other hand, consciously select from an array of possibilities for achieving their goals. Human leadership is not prede- termined as in the animal world; rather, it varies from situation to situation and from individual to individual.

Leadership shares all of the features of human communication just described. First, leaders use symbols to create reality. Leaders use language, stories, and rituals to create distinctive group cultures. Second, leaders communicate about the past, present, and future. They engage in evaluation, analysis, and goal setting. Effective leaders create a desirable vision outlining what the group should be like in the future. Third, leaders make conscious use of symbols to reach their goals. See the case study in box 1.3 for examples of the effective and inef- fective use of symbols by leaders. We will have more to say about how leaders adapt their behaviors to reach their goals later in the chapter. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at the characteristics of human communication.

Words can destroy. What we call each other ultimately becomes what we think of each other, and it matters.

—Jeane Kirkpatrick

The Human Communication Process Noted communication scholar Dean Barnlund identified five principles

that reflect the basic components of human communication.8 Communication is not a thing, it is a process. Communication is not con-

stant; it is dynamic and ever changing. Unlike a biologist looking at a cell through a microscope, communication scholars focus on a continuous, ongoing process without a clearly defined beginning or end. Take a typical conversation, for example. Does a conversation begin when two people enter a room? When they first see each other? When they begin talking? Barnlund, and others,

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Leadership and Communication 7

Box 1.3 Case Study The Importance of Symbols

Leadership is primarily a symbolic activity. The words and behaviors of leaders greatly influ- ence the reactions of those who follow. Consider these examples:

Don Isley is the General Manager of Renco Manufacturing, a medium-sized manufacturing company producing precision components for the airline industry. The Renco plant is located in an office park near a commercial airport and parking is limited. Employee parking areas at the plant are divided into two lots. In one lot, managers and office staff park their vehicles near the main entrance to the Renco plant. On the other side of the building, those who work in the pro- duction area park near a side entrance to the plant. This parking arrangement is more informal than formal, but employees are consistent in their behavior and rarely park in the “wrong” lot. Isley parks in neither lot. He parks his vehicle, a new Corvette, directly in front of the building in a fire lane designated as a no parking area. Isley claims he needs to park in this location so that he can have easier access to his office. Some of the production workers who earn salaries just above minimum wage feel like Isley is “showing off.” What do you think?

Peter Houghton is the CEO of a large privately owned utility company—Valley Electric. Houghton came to Valley Electric from a competitor where he was highly regarded for his suc- cessful management practices. Despite this reputation, employees at Valley Electric were ner- vous when Houghton was hired. He replaced a well-regarded CEO who had been at the helm during a period of rapid growth and profitability. Sensing this uneasiness, Houghton made the decision to spend his first month on the job meeting as many Valley Electric employees as he could. Houghton visited offices, power stations, and field sites. He introduced himself to employ- ees, asked questions, and learned policies and procedures. At the end of his first month on the job, Houghton finally reported to his office. He felt ready to assume the challenge of leading Val- ley Electric. What do you think of this strategy?

Mark Ayala is the owner of a small T-shirt printing business. His company employs about 15 full-time staff members who are responsible for the production of a variety of custom-designed T- shirts. Most of the staff work for minimum wage, and turnover is high. The clothing produced ranges from special-order logo shirts for corporate clients to mass-produced shirts celebrating sports team championships. Ayala started the business in his garage five years ago and has built a loyal clientele by providing high-quality products that are delivered on time to his customers. Ayala and his staff must, at times, work around the clock to meet deadlines for special orders. Through his persistence and hard work, Ayala has developed a very successful business. Recently, Ayala noted that his total revenue for the year exceeded $1 million for the first time in company history. To mark this accomplishment and to thank his employees, Ayala came in late one night and printed T-shirts for his staff. The shirts featured a depiction of a $1 million dollar bill with Ayala’s picture in the center. On the back each shirt read, “Thanks a Million.” When Ayala announced the $1 million milestone to his employees and handed out the shirts, many of his employees were appreciative. Some, however, found the T-shirt giveaway insulting. What do you think?

Eric Littleton is the president of Bald College, a small, private, residential school in the South that is heavily dependent upon tuition revenue. Due to a drop in the number of incoming stu- dents, Bald had to reduce costs. Littleton called an all-employee meeting to announce that department budgets would be cut and that some employees would be laid off. He delivered this message to faculty and staff while wearing workout clothes—a T-shirt, Bald College sweatshirt, and running pants. At the end of the meeting he declined to take questions. Instead he told the crowd that he was headed over to the athletic complex to run with the college’s highly successful men’s basketball team. A number of employees were upset with the way the president handled this important announcement. What do you think?

Margaret Gates is the superintendent of schools in the Elmwood Hills school district. Elm- wood Hills is an affluent community located in the suburbs of a large metropolitan area. The schools in the Elmwood Hills district have an excellent reputation, and many parents choose to

(continued)

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8 Chapter One

would suggest that a conversation actually “begins” with the experiences, skills, feelings, and other characteristics that individuals bring to an interaction.

Communication is not linear, it is circular. Models depicting the process of communication have evolved from a linear explanation, first developed by ancient Greek rhetoricians over 2,000 years ago, to a circular explanation, offered by Barnlund. In the earliest description of the communication process, a source transmitted a message to a receiver in much the same way that an archer shoots an arrow into a target. Only the source had an active role in this model; the receiver merely accepted messages. This view, known as an action model, is diagrammed below.

The action model provided an incomplete depiction of the communication process because the response of the receiver was ignored. Reactions to mes- sages, known as feedback, were included in the next explanation of communica- tion—the interaction model. The interaction model described communication as a process of sending messages back and forth from sources to receivers and receivers to sources. From this perspective, diagrammed at the top of p. 9, com- munication resembles a game of tennis.

An Action Model of Communication

RECEIVERSOURCE

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