Introduction to Relational or Interpersonal Challenge - Research Paper Example

INTRODUCTION OF THE RELATIONAL/INTERPERSONAL CHALLENGE: Relational and Interpersonal challenges can openly have an effect on a person’s different aspects of life. For instance, an individual’s self-assurance, welfare, expectations, and sentiments can be affected with the spotlight being on the individual’s relationships. Individual’s with relational challenges commonly have troubles with communicating their sentiments in a healthy and resonable way and may easily end up as disagreements between the parties. The triggers of relational challenges range widely, from stress related issues ,to communication disagreements , and even rage , among other issues(Phanew,p.98). Most organizations strive to attain a superior level of staff development; and this can be possible when the leaders are capable, effectual, and dedicated. Interpersonal or relational challenges could form a hindrance of this from happening, as it would lead to the staff from having pleasing operational outlines, as the working environment would not be conducive. In the professional capacity, relational or interpersonal challenges by the executives eventually highly have an effect on the performance of the organization. The reason is that the executive would be having issues with being effective, as a result of having minimal coorperation and respect from his or her subordinates. Another reason is that the executive would not be able to have successful ways of resolving disagreements. Interpersonal challenges by an executive may eventually lead to the loss of talented staff in the organization . Leaders are said to have the capability to persuade an individual or a group through effective communication and influence, yet they still may face various interpersonal or relational challenges. The common types of interpersonal challenges include ineffective communication to the rest of the staff, forcefully making other members of staff to enact on a superior directive, inability to express the policies to the staff. Additional common types of interpersonal or relational challenges include lack of offering regular feedback to the subordinates when they make mistakes, creating a barrier between the staff and the executive and as a result, the leader lacks the time to interact with his or her subordinates. Some leaders are too friendly with their employees such that the subordinates ignore the healthy boundaries. Some leaders are deficient in giving the other members of staff motivation therefore resulting to underperformance of the employees. A few leaders do not involve themselves in the projects they have assigned to their subordinates, therefore in case they do the project in a wrong way there is no way they would know where the mistake was since they did not advise the subordinate appropriately and in due time. Other leaders may fail to communicate distinct goals for their staff members (Phanew,p.112) . Social Intelligence was at first said to be the capability of boys and girls, men and women to understand one another and interact wisely amongst each other. This definition has now evolved to the capability of human beings to relate well in the midst of each other. Social Intelligence for numerous years has been functional such that cultures and multifaceted huge human clusters cannot avoid to go through the process so that people get nurtured together and turn out to be better. Social Intelligence can be gauged using three main dimensions. These include the social skills, which is the capability of an individual to observe and comprehend the circumstance he or she is in which will shape the behavior of the individual. Another is the self- insight, which involves individuals asking contrasting questions to the respondent, whose response will be used to analyze his or her influence on others and how others view the individual. Lastly is the interaction style, which involves an individual studying various scenarios that he or she might be involved in with other people then, analyzing his or her behavioral response for the various circumstances(Phanew,101). Objectives of the research: To be able to identify and examine the common interpersonal or relational challenges, which in this case is ineffective communication, that face many leaders be it in an organization or the society. To find out the solutions of ineffective communication for the leaders who face the interpersonal or relational challenges. To analyze the foundational leadership or Social Intelligence principles, models and/or theories that should be considered when evaluating ineffective communication amongst leaders To find out what are the results of relevant research studies on ineffective communication To be able to clearly define the impact of ineffective communication for leaders and for the industry This Professional Development project will be focusing on ineffective communication as one of the interpersonal challenges by leaders in order to find out the impacts and solution for it. Since Social Intelligence is the capability of human beings to relate well among each other, effective communication is necessary if cultures and multifaceted huge human clusters are to get nurtured together and turn out to be better. Therefore using the outcome of effective communication, social intelligence will be able to provide the link between the leaders and the subordinates in order to attain progressive personal growth within the organization. RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH: Foundational Leadership principles: There are numerous foundational leadership principles that may be applied when assessing ineffective communication among leaders. These principles are integrated with the qualities of a good leader and they include the ability of leaders to incorporate logical thinking and long-term execution of goals for the benefit of the organization. Another principle embraces the ability of the leader to share and associate a sense of purpose and objectives across the organizational structure in order to fulfill the organization’s vision and goals. A further principle entails the capability of a leader to center on a number of key systems and procedures for effective management. The capability of a leader to give accurate arrangement is an additional leadership principle. A different leadership principle involves a leader being able to allocate time for discussion with his or her subordinate as well as issuing feedback on the various projects and assignment undertaken by the organization. The ability of a leader to explain and develop the organization’s vision to the rest of the members of staff is another principle that can be used to gauge effective communication in the organization. In addition, the ability for leaders to guide by example is vital for communication, as they should not only be able to say but act it out themselves as an example to the rest of the staff members. Another principle is the ability of the leader to think about the requests of the other employees as well as the stakeholders during decision-making. In addition, the leader should also be able to confer with the other members of staff on the clarity of the objectives of a project and be able to delegate it well to them. Another principle is the leader should be able to create trust with his or her subordinates and get rid of fear incase the employees have not understood the task well. A further principle is the ability of a leader to recognize and act in response to change which will mean effectively communicating the new ideas and targets to the rest of the members. The ability of leaders to look for new ways of working and producing better jobs in the organization is another leadership principle, which can be made possible if the employees provide the necessary feedbacks on the new methods used. Social Intelligence principles: There are numerous Social Intelligence principles that may be applied when assessing ineffective communication among leaders. These principles include the ability of leaders to represent and promote customs of courtesy. This will promote mutual respect among each employee and create a conducive working environment. Another principle is the capability of a leader to create an environment where individuals are able to respect one another, be well mannered and understanding towards one another as they work together to attain the organization’s vision and goals. A further principle is the ability for a leader to recognize, value and appreciate the assortment in people’s thoughts and point of views as this will enhance healthy freedom of expression and motivate all employees to input their ideas in the growth their organization. Another principle is the ability of a leader to ensure that each organ in the organizational structure cooperate amongst each other and not put barriers amongst them, that is between the various departments as well as between the leader and the other members of staff . Leadership models and theories: There are numerous Leadership models and theories that could be used by leaders to categorize what type of leaders they are, find out their strengths and weaknesses so that they can create a balance that would eventually promote the growth of the organization. These models include transactional leadership model, transformational leadership model, participative leadership model, situational leadership model, charismatic leadership model, among others. The participative leadership model that can be used to evaluate effective and ineffective communication. In this model, the leader also engages himself or herself as a team member. The leader discusses with the members of staff the objectives and goals, be it of the organization or a particular project. A consensus is sort by the leader before making passing any decision as a result everyone can be held accountable in the final resolution. The results of relevant research: According to Grossman (2011) in the Holmes Report, the cost of poor communication by leaders can be equated and broken down to $37 billion: lost due to employees who misunderstood the organization’s objectives or were misinformed on the organization’s policies, business procedures , $26,041 per year: of productivity lost due to communication barriers between the management and the subordinate. Therefore, ineffective communication brings great losses to the organization when the leaders consciously decide not to improve on their communication skills. Luthans (2013) in a McGraw-Hill report suggests that a communication expert emphasized that the only means by which an individual can persuade another is through communicative behavioral interactions by which persuasion can be obtained (Luthans, 2013). IMPACT OF THE RELATIONAL/INTERPERSONAL CHALLENGE: Impact of the ineffective communication for leaders: The impacts of ineffective communication for the leaders are diverse and they include restricting output and efficiency by the leader in terms of the decision making process. Ineffective communication also causes the leaders not to be able to perform the tasks in a well-organized manner as some instances he or she will require help from the subordinates. Additionally, futile communications causes the leaders to have unsuccessful meetings with the other members of staff. In addition, futile communication causes not only the leaders but also the rest of the staff to have low morale in the working environment. Furthermore, ineffective communication causes the leaders not to obtain the necessary feedback of the organization’s progress from the subordinates, in case there are new methods being used to run operations in the organization or in case there issues that need to be addressed by the management for smooth running of the organization. The leader may not receive the respect he or she deserve if there is futile communication as the individual may easily be misunderstood by the other members of staff. In addition, ineffective communication will eventually cause the leader not to gain personal growth in his or her career since he or she will not be able to explore other innovative ways of conducting business or refining the organization’s operations to improve performance of the organization. Furthermore, since good leadership encompasses trust and commitment between the management and the other employees, therefore ineffective communication results to lack of trust among the members in the organization. Futile communication would result less clarity in terms of giving guidance and direction by the leader to the other members. Ineffective communication leads to low morale amongst the subordinates due to the communication barrier and fear created between them and the leaders. This also affects the leaders, as they do not obtain work satisfaction, as the people they lead are not free with them. This would cause even the most talented individuals in the organization to lack the loyalty for the organization and in turn, it would be the same for the leaders. Therefore, besides from the organization undergoing low productivity, it would cost the leaders much more to boost or improve the other staff members morale due to the inefficient communication skills of the leader. In addition, the subordinates will associate the type of leadership with the organization, therefore if the leader is an ineffective communicator, the rest of the subordinates would associate this with the rest of the organization, and this would not be a good reputation for the leader. Impact of the ineffective communication for the organization: Poor communication by the leaders would lead to lower productivity of the organization as a whole. For instance, if the leader did not communicate well to his or her subordinates on the objectives or goals of a particular project, then there would not be good results. In addition, it would lead to the organization to have late or even unfinished projects since there were no clear-cut guidelines for the project. Ineffective communication would also lead to less cohesion amongst the members of staff in the organization since there is a communication barrier between the management and the subordinates. Futile communication causes some form of gap between the leaders and the subordinates and this would directly or indirectly affect the employees morale. Since a leader is said to be an individual who influences through communicative behavior, lack of it would cause the employees not to be inspired or innovative and give feedback so that the organization grows and becomes more productive as they personally grow with the organization. This low morale would cause employees to be less loyal to the organization, thus it may end up losing a high number of talented employees. This would also cause employees not to have the psyche to complete or do assignments. Ineffective communication would promote lack of courtesy amongst the members of the organization. This will discourage mutual respect among each employee and create a less conducive working environment. As a result, individuals will not be able to work together and achieve the organization’s ideas and purposes. Futile communication, causes the leaders not to get proper information or the necessary feedback from the subordinates hence, there will not be additional innovative skills from within the organization thus causing it to grow slowly which in return would yield losses in monetary terms. Ineffective communication by a leader would cause information breakdown within the organization hence resulting to poor facilitation of directives by the subordinates, which would result, to friction between the leader and subordinate. This friction would cause the members of staff to be frustrated in the work place and consequently the employees may experience constant fatigue. This would adversely translate to the productivity of the organization, as most of the employees would be frustrated and fatigued. Additionally, ineffective communication may end up costing the organization important strategy implementation. For instance, when a leader obtains a directive from the board of directors of from any other superior, then communicates the idea to the subordinates. If there has been a communication barrier or lack of respect between that leader and his or her staff, the directive would not be executed to the optimum simply because the leader was not used to communicating well with the other staff members. RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES: Strategies: The strategies that can be used to deal with ineffective communication of leaders include clearly stating and illustrating the organization’s or project’s goals, vision, and objectives in order to avoid misunderstandings amongst the staff members and the executive. Taking through the organization’s objectives and policies by a leader will be able to allow room for discussion from the members of staff in case anyone has not understood their task or the objectives of the organization. This will also allow the leaders to break of the barrier of fear among the other members of staff, since everyone will be allowed to air out their view. Accountability among the members in the organization will improve since every member would have interacted well with each other within the organization during the articulating of the organization’s objective hence they can be held accountable for the results (Phanew, p.112). Another strategy that can be used to deal with ineffective communication of leaders would be the development of effective communication skills by the leader. Both leaders and the other staff members can undergo training through seminars and workshops on effective communication skills. From the training both leaders and subordinate can be taught on the appropriate language that can be used so as to improve on courtesy amongst each member. Leaders can also learn on the appropriate attitude that they can have on their subordinate so that the level of morale may be highly maintained as well as the productivity of the organization. Leaders can also learn on how to resolve conflicts within the organization in order to allow the personal growth of each employee as well as the growth of the organization. An additional strategy that can be used to deal with ineffective communication of leaders would be gather feedback from the subordinates. Feedback is necessary for an organization so that the leaders may know whether the methods they are using to execute their daily operations is viable and would bring in high productivity. Feedback generation from employees will only be possible when the leaders are able to create a platform to allow all the members to share their opinions on the methods that are being used, as well as, employing other strategies for effectiveness of the organization. The feedback may be positive or negative and could either be issued by the leader or the subordinates. The idea of feedback generation is to help the members of staff to be efficient employees and the leaders to be better organizers as well as bosses in the organization. Conclusion: In conclusion, in the professional capacity, relational or interpersonal challenges by the executives eventually highly have an effect on the performance of the organization. The reason is that the executive would be having issues with being effective, as a result of having minimal coorperation and respect from his or her subordinates. Another reason is that the executive would not be able to have successful ways of resolving disagreements. Interpersonal challenges by an executive may eventually lead to the loss of talented staff in the organization . Poor communication by the leaders would lead to lower productivity of the organization as a whole. For instance, if the leader did not communicate well to his or her subordinates on the objectives or goals of a particular project, then there would not be good results. In addition, it would lead to the organization to have late or even unfinished projects since there were no clear-cut guidelines for the project. Ineffective communication causes the leaders not to obtain the necessary feedback of the organization’s progress from the subordinates, in case there are new methods being used to run operations in the organization or in case there issues that need to be addressed by the management for smooth running of the organization. Therefore, the recommendations strategies that can be used to deal with ineffective communication of leaders include clearly stating and illustrating the organization’s or project’s goals, vision, and objectives in order to avoid misunderstandings amongst the staff members and the executive. Another strategy would be the development of effective communication skills by the leader through workshops and seminars. Additionally, gathering feedback from the subordinates by the leaders would be another strategy that can be recommended to improve on effective communication. Justification: Since Relational and Interpersonal challenges can openly have an effect on a person’s different aspects of life, most organizations strive to attain a superior level of staff development; and this can be possible when the leaders are capable, effectual, and dedicated. Interpersonal or relational challenges could form a hindrance of this from happening, as it would lead to the staff from having pleasing operational outlines, as the working environment would not be conducive. Ineffective communication is one of the interpersonal challenges for a leader and this brings diverse impacts to both the organization and the leader. Impacts such as low employee morale as well as low productivity cause adverse monetary effects to an organization(Phanew,p.115). With this in mind, further research should be conducted on the association of causes and effects of ineffective communication not only to the organization, employees, and leaders, but also to the end users. That is how leaders influence the end users with ineffective communication. Work cited Phaneuf, W. (2008). How Poor Leadership Performance Impacts Employee Motivation. Manitoba, Canada: The Training Source.pp,96-115.Print Read More