Communication and Leadership in the Workplace Research Paper

Communication and Leadership in the Workplace - Research Paper Example The communication process involves interchanging messages between the source and the receiver. The source is the person that sends the information, while the receiver is the person that listens to other person talking. Maintaining good communication between the employees of a company is important because doing so can help a firm improve its productivity. Managers that maintain good communication are able to gain the trust of the employees. For communication to be effective in the workplace it must follow the proper communication channels. The communication channels are the pathways used to transmit information. Some examples of communication channels are emails, telephone, cellular phones, written letters, memos, and face to face meetings. A good mechanism that often enhances the communication process is feedback. Feedback is a reaction or response to something another person has done or said (Dictionary, 2012). A popular method of feedback that is often used in the corporate world i s 360-degree feedback. This method forces different people including peers and supervisors to evaluate the performance of an employee. Communication can be either verbal or non-verbal. Talking to another person is a form of verbal communication. Three examples of non-verbal communication are body gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. Communication must be effective to ensure that everyone understands the message. Speaking in a concise matter helps improve the communication process. A skill that enhances communication is active listening. Five key elements of active listening are: Pay attention Show that you are listening Provide feedback Defer judgment Respond appropriately (Mindtools, 2012). Improving the communication between co-workers can help reduce misunderstandings. Good communication can also help prevent conflicts in the workplace. There are forces that inhibit communication such as cultural differences, lack of feedback, and noise. Ethnocentrism occurs when one cu lture believe their values are superior to another culture. A lack of feedback is counterproductive because the person that does not receive feedback cannot take any corrective action to improve his behavior. Noise hurts the communication process because it interferes with the ability of people to listen to the message being sent. Companies must learn about new communication technologies. New communication tools such as Skype allow workers to have video chats and conferences. Face to face dialog is one of the most effective communication methods (Stryker & Santoro, 2012). Organizations need leadership in order to guide the efforts of the company. The managers of the company are the employees that are supposed to exert leadership, but leadership can come from any employee in a firm. When leadership comes from an employee that is not in a managerial position that form of leadership is called informal leadership. Some of the top companies that utilize leadership to their advantage are IBM, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Aditya Birla, and Colgate-Palmolive (Cnn, 2012). A company that has a reputation for having good leaders is better able to attract young talent into the firm. Good leadership in an organization helps a firm increase the motivation of its employees. Employees that are motivated perform better and have greater job satisfaction.  Ã‚