ICLD 1.12 Effective Communication: Discussion Board

18 Comments

• As a leader, being a competent communicator is essential to enhance credibility, communicate expectations, listen, and share and integrate information effectively. The Effective Communication module has been instrumental in helping me strengthen my leadership skills in these areas.

  One of the critical lessons I learned was the importance of active listening. The module highlighted the significance of paying attention, being present, and giving feedback to convey that you’re listening actively. I have applied this lesson at work by actively listening to my team members and giving them the necessary feedback to show that I’m present and listening.

  Another valuable lesson was the importance of sharing information transparently and effectively. The module stressed the significance of sharing information with transparency and clarity to build trust and avoid confusion. I now ensure that I communicate all information transparently and clearly to my team, which has helped build trust and foster a more collaborative work environment.

  Lastly, the module emphasized the importance of communication in enhancing credibility. Leaders can establish credibility with their team by effectively communicating expectations, goals, and objectives. I have applied this lesson by communicating clear expectations, setting achievable goals, and providing regular feedback to my team members, which has helped improve their performance and build credibility.

  In conclusion, the Effective Communication module has been instrumental in helping me enhance my leadership capacity.

• This module highlights the importance of effective communication to achieve a shared outcome or goal. Credibility creates the foundation for effective communication and is an important aspect of leadership. Leaders can also use effective communication to enhance their credibility with their subordinates, colleagues and also superiors. Effective communication is important to be able to communicate your expectations to the people who work for you and also to provide feedback. Police work can create a complex work environment, effective communication can help leaders manage that environment, manage conflicts that may arise, and encourage participation from subordinates. This work complexity also requires leaders to be able to share and integrate information appropriately and effectively.

• This lesson yet again highlighted the essential need to be a great communicator as a leader. Without the ability to effectively communicate, leaders will never gain true credibility. This lesson discussed several keys to success in communication and they included things like active listening to provide appropriate feedback, ability to manage interpersonal conflict, and sharing/integrating of information effectively throughout the agency. These are all major responsibilities as a leader and they all hinge on effective communication. It requires active listening, proper decoding of messages, and clarity in expression of one’s self. Just because everyone knows how to listen and knows how to talk doesn’t mean they can be truly effective at those things. They’re skills that have to be worked on and developed so we can be the best leaders possible.

  • I completely agree with your thoughts on the importance of effective communication in leadership. Communication skills are essential for a leader to establish credibility and to perform their roles and responsibilities effectively. The keys to success in communication, such as active listening, conflict management, and information sharing, are crucial for leaders to build strong relationships with their team members and stakeholders. It’s essential to understand that effective communication is not just about talking and listening but also about decaying messages accurately and expressing oneself clearly. As you rightly pointed out, these skills require constant practice and development to become a great communicator and a successful leader.

• This module showed us how as a leader and to be an effective communicator we need to show that we have the three main components of credibility which are, expertise, dynamism, and trust. As a good leader we know that it is imperative that portray a positive image and provide a level of trust. If we succeed in these areas it will be a key component in being a positive influence to many or to one. I believe it is important to be a positive role model. But in order to do that we need to effective in how we communicate to our team. It is also important to be clear within our communication so that there is no doubt and people on your team believe in you and your mission of the department. Trust a five letter word that emphasizes many things that define our world around us. To be credible in what we do everyday we need to believe in ourselves and trust ourselves to succeed. Balancing life from personal pathways to our profession creates many ways we need to be a positive communicator that is willing to listen and be able to provide positive feedback as well as the negative. If your team beleives in you then they will trust you and will follow you to the end.

  • Credibility often comes up as one of the keys to leadership. In this module we see how it lays the foundation for effective communication. You mentioned the three components of credibility – expertise, dynamism and trust. Sometimes I think the one that often gets overlooked but is so important is dynamism. The lecture described it as the degree to which you are active or passive. Dynamic leaders are able to harness positive attitudes and new ideas to lead departments through the often dreaded internal and external changes.

• It was interesting to learn different techniques on how to have members engage in open conversations during staff discussions. Asking the members to independently deliberate and bring ideas to the table to start open discussions. I also like the idea of them providing ideas anonymously so we can openly discuss them without anyone feeling like their ideas isn’t the best idea. I really liked the idea of having a devil’s advocate, this allows another member to critically think of all the shortcoming that could occur. Plus, it doesn’t have the supervisor always being the one to shed negative light on the ideas. Having the ability to inspire others through daily activities and wanting them to improve the division (O’Leary, 2014). I have noticed in the past when I ask members to provide ideas or feedback most of them sit quietly. When asked to provide written feedback, most of them don’t follow through. In the future, I plan on incorporating some of these techniques.
  Reference
  O’Leary, J. (2014). The importance of good conversations and how to have it. TED Talk. 1.12, Week # 4. National Command and
  Staff College. Retrieved from blob:https://embed.ted.com/99da59e3-a6c0-45ad-9d10-70e53de1c052

• Being able to trust your leader/supervisor will allow your subordinates to openly talk with you about things in the work place and or outside of work. With my supervisor I know that I can go to her with any personal issues that I am going through without judgement. With her experience she can respond with all of the knowledge she has gained in the years put in. Supervisors should be able to guide you in all aspects and know they are being truthful to their subordinates.

  • It is very important to be able to openly communicate with your supervisor so they are aware of the personal and professional struggles their members are encountering. As I supervisor, one of my biggest struggles is the fact that I don’t find out some things that our occurring until my members do, so they feel as though I am hiding things from them or that I am not being honest when I tell them I don’t know.

• Communication as a leader is extremely important, as mentioned in this module. It goes into detail that dynamism, trust, and expertise are the main factors. Trust, I would say is the most important element when communicating downward or upward to administration. Granted, knowing what you are talking about is as important as showing your enthusiasm about what is being said. I feel that conveying trust and it being reciprocated by your subordinates in the benefit that it will only enhance what you say and how you say it. No one wants to listen to someone that is always exaggerating or being untruthful. I like knowing that my guys believe what I say based on the fact I am not dishonest to them and would never intentionally lead the astray.

  • I agree that subordinates are not being lead astray is great. I like knowing that my supervisor will never let me fail and is always being honest with me no matter what. Expertise plays a huge part in communication. I would feel more comfortable going to a person with 15+ years of experience rather than someone with 5 years.

  • I would agree, i think that expertise isn’t as important when it comes to communication. I work with a lot of colleagues that have expertise in one area of law enforcement or another but don’t have the trust of the people working under them or with them. If you can get the trust of the Officers and other Supervisors that you work with that eliminates one of the barriers of effective communication and they are more likely to listen to what you have to say and hopefully you trust them which is one of the things communication is built on.

• The John O’Leary TED Talk associated with this module highlighted three reasons why people don’t fully share what they know in a group setting. They included:

  – The idea that dissent = disloyalty
  – The idea that criticism of an idea = criticism of an individual
  – The idea that to disagree with consensus = not being a team player

  I have seen each of these reactions or accusations absolutely crush collaboration and input, and destroy morale. We have to move beyond the idea that respectful dissent, criticism, or disagreement is always a negative.

  • I agree that in some most cases criticism will be constructive when applied or communicated appropriately in a group setting. On the other spectrum, if the delivery or clarity of the message being conveyed is done incorrectly, this will possibly cause a catastrophic error in terms of improving or growing as a team. When it becomes a habit of miscommunication due to the break, it can cause animosity and put a wedge between people. The straying from the directions can be interpretted as being disloyal or disobedient, therefore continuing in a negative spiral.

  • Eric I have to agree that we have to get away from the thought that individuals with different viewpoint are being disloyal, critical of the other individual or not a team player. I believe that most of the time these individuals are absolutely team players and are thinking outside of the box and if allowed the opportunity could provide good insight of why the current plan or operations aren’t working appropriately.

    I believe one of the issues is that individuals in upper management believe they know what is best for the division and what the members really need. However, sometimes they are out of touch and don’t remember what it use to be like to be on the frontlines or things have changed so much that those practices don’t even work anymore. The other issue is the way the individual delivers the message, if they are coming across as hostile or critical of the current operations then it isn’t going to be well received.

  • Thank you for your post. But I kind of want to debate the idea of what you proposed of how dissent = disloyalty/criticism of an idea = criticism of an individual
    and the idea of disagree with consensus = not being a team player. I understand how this can deplete morale or as you said crush the person but I also can see how a good leader and communicator can use these deficiency to create and build a person. If we as communicators can show the differences and provide the bigger picture by demonstration or by verbalizing then the misunderstanding can be changed so the expectations can be highlighted and understood for positive future. Good leaders can turn things around but obviously the individual will need to want to make the change a trust in you to help them through it.

  • I really liked watching this Ted Talk from John O’Leary. It highlighted a few examples of communication break down with high stakes losses. It’s key for us to take these lessons and learn from them. Like you said, I’ve seen plenty of upper administration view dissent or constructive feedback as not being a team player. There are major downsides to having everyone on your team just agree with everything you say because they are scared to speak up. It is important for the person dissenting or “playing devil’s advocate” to make sure they are doing it in a respectful and well expressed manner though. Sometimes they may be correct, but delivery is just as important for the message to be truly received.

• I am a Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPAC) evaluator and am testing the system.