Communication Challenges in Leadership

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I can be counted among those people who believe that age/generation do influence, contribute and decidedly impact how a leader communicates. Obviously, a good leader will learn how to transcend those influences but they are still a part of who he is and how he relates/communicates with his team.

During a conversation with my uncle who has made his fortune in coaching and consulting with companies, he used the sender-receiver model discussed in the Module 6 reading (Lussier & Achua, 2010, par. 4) to illustrate how communication can be affected by gender and age and values. His example was that he’s an older male, recently retired, Vietnam Veteran communicating with a younger, female, business owner and feedback is necessary to ensure that what was said had the same intention/interpretation when received. (W. Rose, personal communication, April 12, 2011)

An experience during my time as a customer service manager provides another example of how age/generation can impact a leader. My department was high stress, 24/7 support and completely staffed with a younger generation. I recognized their energy, enthusiasm and desire for play when not on the phones providing troubleshooting for a merchant. Needless to say, our department was loud, filled with laughter and toys but also one of the most cohesive groups in the company. Most of the other department heads were of a much older generation and placed a high value on silence and solemnity. When our company moved to a bigger building, my department was given an area that was completely walled off from the other quieter departments and we continued to enjoy our youthful (but very productive) ways while the others were left undisturbed.

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...rcome them and go on to develop a cohesive, productive team. Generational communications are just one challenge that leaders will encounter during their team building.

Works Cited

Duke University, (n.d.). Cross generational communication [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from

http://www.duke.edu/web/equity/div_genera~ppt%20III.ppt

Leibovich, M. (2008). McCain the analog candidate. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/weekinreview/03leibovich.html

Lussier, R., & Achua, C. (2010) Leadership: Theory, application & skill development (4th ed.) Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Phelps, D. & Yee, C., (April 1, 2011). U want a job? Communication skills of ‘generation text’ aren’t so gr8 [web blog]. Retrieved from http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenter/u_want_a_job_communication_skills_of_generation _text_arent_so_gr8_.html

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