1

Foundations of Team Leadership

Foundations of Team Leadership

Communications Challenges

2

Foundations of Team Leadership

6b-2

•Communications is Difficult

•Prone to distortion

Communications

•It is a perpetual phone game

6a-3

Foundations of Team Leadership

Interpersonal Communication

UnderstandsDecodes

And acknowledges

Codes Sends

SenderReceiver

Ideas, thoughts and feelings…

Adapted: M Randall

6a-4

Foundations of Team Leadership

Interpersonal Communication

Sender Receiver

Feelings

Intentions

Feelings

Intentions

Understanding!Ideas, thoughtsand feelings…

Complicating Factors

•Assumptions

•Expectations

•Emotional Issues

•Cultural factors

Adapted: M Randall

6a-5

Foundations of Team Leadership

Drop that task you are working on, and get my report finished today

I need that report by the end of the week

I’d like that report as soon as you can get to it

What the Team Member Heard

What the Team Leader Meant

What the Team Leader Said

Communication Break-Downs

Speaking

Meaning

Hearing

There is an opening in the Country Office that I think would be just your cup of tea

I would really like it if you applied for this position. If not, of course, you can stay where you are & still be part of the team. You be the judge

You don’t have to go to the Country Office, if you do not want to. But, if you do not, you can kiss goodbye your involvement with this region

6a-6

Foundations of Team Leadership

Distortions in Communications

Hearing What We Expect to Hear

Ignoring Information That Conflicts With What We Know

Evaluation of the Source

Differing Perceptions

Words that mean Different things to Different People

Inconsistent Nonverbal Signals

Effects of Emotions

Noise

Foundations of Team Leadership

5a-7

Behaviors TO: Encourage Openness

• Descriptiveness• Problem Orientation• Spontaneous• Empathy• Equality• Contingency

J Gibb: Journal Communication; Sept. 1961

Attitudes & Behaviors

Affecting Communications

Behaviors TO: Elicit

Defensiveness• Evaluation• Calculating• Trying to Control• Aloofness• Superiority• Absolutism

Foundations of Team Leadership

Praful PatelRegional Vice President

South Asia

Why do you think a respectful environment is important?You need to first ask yourself, "What does an environment with no respect look like?" Respect is about treating everyone else as you would want to be treated - being sensitive and having an open mind to the differences of others. Respect combined with trust are prerequisites for functioning teams, results and everything else. .

How do you encourage respect amongst your staff?Model it! Be consistent in your behavior and stay alert to what happens around you. .

Describe a challenging situation you've faced related to respect and how you dealt with it?As the chair of the Appeals Committee, I was faced with the challenge of gaining the respect of an emotionally charged staff member who came in trusting nobody. My approach was to tackle the matter at the beginning of the session. I immediately told him that he had the respect of the entire panel and assured him that this would be proven to him in the course of the hearing. I told him how I thought it felt to be in his shoes and asked him to respond to my assessment. I made it clear that I wanted to listen to him. We ultimately gained his trust and found a resolution to the situation.