How Leadership Communication Differs from Conventional Management Communication - Essay Example

Many leaders believe that they have communicated once they say something; if the person being directed to do something does not do it unintentionally, it means there was no communication because the receiver did not get the message. Communication is complete only if the receiver understood the message (Daft and Lane 261). In communication, what you hear is equally important to what you say, so communication is a two-way process. A leader is somebody who guides, directs, and motivates people. Leaders should have the power to motivate employees as an organization or people in a community to work together to achieve desired goals.

Leadership and management are similar, and they differ in some ways: they both involve working with people, concern about effective management, and other related characteristics. In leadership communication, a leader must communicate effectively. Leaders spend most of their time communicating with the employees; it has been found that communication takes over 70 percent of leaders’ time per day (Daft and Lane 261). Leadership communication to employees or people he/she is in charge of is always transparent, trustful, and open while conventional management communication is normally a directive to the subjects about what needs to be done.

This is because leaders are innovators, and they always want to further their innovation while managers are employed to administer the directives that will see the organization grow. A leader should do things he/she believes will help the organization progress. Leaders focus on employees while managers focus on both the customers and employees. Management communication is more consistent than leadership communication. This is because the management in an organization is always in touch with employees since they are in charge of running day-to-day functions and ensuring that the staff performs to the required limit; hence, they are giving directions all the time, unlike leadership, which is not always in touch with employees: they always offer policy decision and they are responsible for the overall performance of the organization and its future (Daft and Lane 261).

Conventional management communication is informative while leadership communication is not informative. Informative communication only informs the subject of what needs to be done while non-informative communication influences the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the subject, which is what is required from a leader. Leadership communication should be spelled out courageously; if communication is open and honest, it might contain some mistakes, but the mistakes will be better than uninspiring communications.

If as a leader you do not have an answer to a question or a problem, admit that you cannot respond, and the employees will respect you believing that you are honest. Management communication should be specific while leadership communication can be changed. Specific communication is simple and concise and not confusing. Managers should always be at the point and should avoid going around. With brevity and clarity, it will make employees obey time and become disciplined. In leadership communication, the message can be changed; this strategy will prevent the message from going bad.

Since leadership is meant to spearhead the organization into the future, the leader’s message should be acceptable to everybody in order to push the organization forward. The leadership’s objective should always be in line with what is being communicated. If the information being given does not have the desired effect, it should be changed. Conventional management communication starts with interpersonal skills and a proper understanding of cross-cultural differences required for effective interaction with people.

Listening is a very important skill and is needed in management since for management to be effective, effective communication is required (Stech 102). Leadership communication should make people feel like they are working for a winner. This will improve the organization's morale, which will translate into better performance. Leaders always praise employees’ work hoping for a better future. Leaders’ communication is acquired naturally while managers, they need to learn and practice several times in order to enhance their skills.

Apart from practicing, they should enroll in classes for them to be trained on how to communicate effectively.