Leadership and Communication - Book Report/Review Example

Leadership and Communication The leadership is always about providing the followers with the vision. The implementation of mission and vision of the leader is highly dependent on one’s ability to communicate. The communication will always remain an integral part of any leader’s professional life[Bal03]. The power of words is historically used in order to bring changes but it is important for all leaders to remain sincere with their teams because leadership is known to be built on the basis of trust. Additionally, leaders have a valuable duty to give their peers and subordinates refreshed incentive every now and then so that they can remain interested in the campaign. The effective leaders are famous for remaining open to human concerns whereas, the ineffective ones always look to rule on the followers with the help of procedures. The procedures do not ensure the long term life of the leader’s influence but they safeguard the position for a limited period of time. The sincerity of leader’s communications will significantly predict the success[Gil09]. The leaders who prey on organizational, social and financial power eventually fall off the grid as their followers find out that the group effort is not serving their purpose and objectives any more. The inability to fulfill needs and wants of members cause the reign of temporary leaders to end even prematurely while, other category of the leaders tend to appeal to the humanity of the followers and provide a vision that is indeed noble in nature. In this way, they are able to inspire greatness in others[Gil09]. The historical leaders such as John F. Kennedy and Nelson Mandela are remembered as ones of the most successful leaders even after death because they had taken a stand for something that was identified as impossible by the masses. The communication plays a notable hand in terms of making sure that everyone in the team is on the same page, Furthermore, the leader’s responsibilities entail the duty to tell people about changes in the policies, strategic direction and most importantly, they should relate their present decision with the fulfillment of long term goals. All of the abovementioned activities and tasks cannot be achieved by an ordinary person because they involve facing people courageously and fearlessly or otherwise, the vision of the leader will never see the daylight. The leadership in the modern era of the 21st century cannot be practiced without the usage of information technology. The idea and concept of communication remained static over the period of centuries[Bal03]. However, the means of practicing leadership kept on changing. Once, the mere ability to talk in public was considered as leadership then, with the passage of time, the notion of leadership evolved in order to include the subtopics of serenity, public service and the profound ability to bring changes. In the past, autocratic leadership was the way to go and Kings were considered the legitimate leaders in the societies. The general public was almost convinced that they deserved to be treated badly by the rulers. The leadership thrived on the basis of social inequality at that times and the generational leaders were taking on the rule as inheritance. The democratic way of government was being preached by quite a few people. The general public also wanted to see a change regarding the management style of the government. The people were very upset by the presence of economic disparity which had been prevailing in the entire world[Bal03]. The public need to see justice and social equality was later translated into the modern concept of leadership that needed the leader to win the hearts and minds of the followers. The followers were fooled by the meaningless and pointless speeches which made no practical impact on the society and that was the time when scholars started talking that leaders must do what they say. The action oriented leadership was founded based on the featured mindset[Alv92]. The communication is the beginning of one’s journey as a leader but his or her actions are going to determine the long term life of the influence. The humans are getting more and more informed and therefore, it is becoming very difficult for the leaders to keep their superiority intact without doing anything concrete. The communication skills mark the beginning of one’s career as an influencer but it does not mean at all that they should not be harnessed and developed once the person has grown into a legitimate leader. The public expectation to hear sounder plans and goals from a senior leader so it is imperative for the leader to keep talking throughout the whole life but it must be done sensibly. The communication should be backed up by proper action due to people’s need to believe in the visible and mere words wither away even after the tiniest amounts of time passed. The communication is important but nowadays leadership can also be practiced the other way around because one has the option to take the action first and then a mild level of publicity will help one in becoming a legitimize leader. The latest approach is ideal for public officials and politicians who end up with organizational and governmental power but need to work on gaining trust and respect in the public. The social change bringers and junior politicians have to understand the fact that they require to brush up on their power of words in order to thrive in the profession. Conclusively, it can be established that communication is an integral part of leader’s life. Communication is not an end in itself unless it is backed up and supported by proper action. The leaders should always communicate and if they do not have anything to say then, they should repeat the message conveying the vision. The followers need to hear from the leader in order to stay on course or they will lose the sense of direction. The communication must be managed and the followers must know what they need to otherwise they will push the panic button. References Bal03: , (Baldoni, 2003), Gil09: , (Gilley, Gilley, & McMillan, 2009), Alv92: , (Alvesson, 1992), Read More