Leadership Communication
Communication is an essential part in a leaders daily work life, and without it, effective leadership does not exist. However, it is possible to be able to communicate without having to lead. These interactions can consist of transmitting communication through messages, pictures via email or text messages. For most humans it comes natural to interact through communication and shared symbols. Leaders can face barriers of communication, but finding new methods or tools that work appropriately in order to transmit their information is a crucial factor.
The Way a Leader Communicates
The way a leader communicates is not dependent from his or her age/generation. The classification of generations are chart by their birth year and social influences. This means that one generation differentiates from the next and this affects their communication style, among other behaviors. Baby boomers for instance may feel intimidated by technology, which can hurt their communication through this technological era. “Boomers were also raised to respect authority figures, but as they witnessed their foibles, learned not to trust anyone over thirty” (Karp, Fuller, & Sirias, 2002). This can bring communication conflict when boomers are expected or forced to accept leadership guidance from other younger generations. Generation Xers are more apt to embrace technology. They have strong technical skills (Zemke et al., 2000) generation Xers can easily focus on their goals and “are ruled by a sense of accomplishment and not the clock” (Joyner, 2000). Authority figures do not intimidate Xers, and for the most part, money does not motivated them but the absence of money might (Karp et al., 2002). However, Generation Y are best prepare to e...
... middle of paper ...
...h draft. My hands are tired and sore but I feel a sense of accomplishment. Now, I am at the cross roads wondering, is this paper ready to be submitted? I believe it is.
Works Cited
Joyner, T. (2000). Gen X-ers focus on life outside the job fulfillment. The Secured Lender May/Jun. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5352/is_200005/ai_n21455443
Karp, H., Fuller, C., & Sirias, (2002). Bridging the boomer Xer gap. Creating authentic teams for high performance at work. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.
Peter Drucker. (2012). Information Age and Strategic Decision Making. Retrieved from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt1ch3.html
Zemke, R., Raines, C., & Filipczak, B. (1999) Generations at work: Managing the clash of veterans, boomers, Xers, and nexters in your workplace. AMACOM, New York. ISBN: 0814404804
These three generations: Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y all bring their own share of values, beliefs, thoughts and opinions, perspective and experiences to the workplace. The dynamics of the workplace is directly affected by the differences among these three generations. Today’s current managers need to understand how to efficiently manage and lead a multigenerational workforce in order to increase productivity and meet organization goals and objectives. Recently, there has been changes in the general management. From 2008 to 2013, there was some serious shift in Gen X and Gen Y moving into managerial roles. According to Matthew Golden from Biz Journals, the most prominent change was 87% of Gen Y moved into more managerial roles compared to
Leaders are very important members of society. Leadership, regardless of how it is defined, is still the ability to lead, manage, advise, teach, decide and direct. In the book “Leading Out Loud” the author Terry Pearce says leadership communication has to express the competence of the communicator while contributing to a sense of trust. Leaders must make it clear that change is aligned with the organization and their leadership goals. Leaders must prove themselves to be competent and trustworthy. In authentic leadership communication the author states that 4 principles must be employed- discovering what matters, applying courage, discipline, and decide to lead.
Gary Erickson, founder of Clif Bar Inc., has an open and innovative style of leadership that fits very distinctly with one of the generations of workers defined by Zemke in the text. While the “Veterans” and “Baby Boomers” are much too prone to tradition and routine and the “Nexters” are far too young and undeveloped as a group, the qualities of a “Gen-Xer” fall directly in line with Erickson’s leadership style. In the text, Zemke describes Gen Xers as “entrepreneurial” and being “more committed to their vocation than to any specific organization” (155). Gen Xers are also said to seek balance between life and work, and they do not define leadership in terms of meetings and vision statements. They would rather leaders make work environments
HR has abundant resources, however to bridge the generational gaps and provide employees with what they want seems to be a similar issue. In years past, HR only had to deal with Baby Boomer and Traditional values, which were similar in nature, however the new generations have different values and have different career paths than their elders. For example, “Why is it that Gen Y has not been more actively recruited? Why is it the Baby Boomers remain in the market place? Why would someone still want to work when their 70?” These are all questions an HR hiring manager has to decipher when determining candidates for a position. The task has become quite difficult due to the broad spectrum and variances of these generations.
During Generation Xers formative years, “investigations called into question many major organizations including the U.S. presidency, military, organized religion, and corporations” (Fore, 2013). As a result, this generation generally had little confidence in institutions and instead placed more faith in themselves. At home, Generation Xers became “‘latchkey children’”, who came home from school without a parent or adult supervision, and their mothers now worked outside the home. They were responsible for themselves, and often became dependent on video games and television sets, which resulted in them being characterized as “independent and resourceful” (Fore, 2013). At work, Generation Xers relied on themselves and their peers to accomplish goals, and did not put much hope in companies or organizations. Unlike Veterans, Generation Xers disliked traditional hierarchy, challenged authority, and expected their leaders to demonstrate competence and fairness, as well as embrace a participative and diverse workplace (Fore, 2013). Similar to the Millennial generation, Generation Xers placed a stronger focus on their personal lives much more than the generations before them. “They were likely to stay with one company throughout their career as long as it did not interfere with their private lives” (Gilley & Waddell, 2015). This lack of organizational loyalty is often attributed to
The Millennials Gen Y and Baby Boomers Gen X are two different generations. Proponents and Opponents both argue: How are they different? Baby Boomers believe that traditional structure, hard work, monetary success, is an essential way of life. In contrast the Millennials simply don’t agree, nor are they going to comply. The Baby Boomers and Millennials don’t see eye to eye about how the workplace should be run, nor do they agree with the way the world was handed to them to be successful, and how power is in generational numbers.
Southard, G. & Lewis, J. (2004, April). Building a Workplace That Recognizes Generational Diversity. Public Management (PM) Magazine. 86 (3) Retrieved October 14, 2004 from http://www2.icma.org/pm/8603/southard.htm
This paper will explore communication strategies associated with effective leadership and address what Ben Williams will need to do differently to communicate effectively as a leader. “Leadership requires the ability to listen, to speak to, and to direct individuals in a manner productive for all involved, including for the organization” (Gorkman, 2009). The communication strategies I will discuss are as follows: 1) Verbal Communication, 2) Presenting, Communicating Goals and Educating Employees and 3) Critical Thinking. I will explain the importance of
Smola, Karen Wey, and Charlotte D. Sutton. "Generational Difference: Revisiting Generational Work Values for the New Millennium." Journal of Organizational Behavior 23 (2002): 363-82. JSTOR. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .
It is the aging of the Baby Boomer generation that has the greatest impact on the aging labour force. Baby Boomers are born in-between the years of 1946 to 1964 and some of the Baby Boomers still have a few years before retirement left in the workforce. Although, there are some Baby Boomers that return to work after retirement to work part time. Baby Boomers will come back to work for many reasons, some being financial reasoning, socialization, and wanting to feel valued. Baby Boomers are work –centric, independent, and goal –oriented, meaning that they are self –reliant, dedicated, hardworking people that define themselves by their accomplishments. Younger workers may or may not enjoy working with the older generation; however, aging in the workplace has its issues. Some of these issues being, conflicts at work, physical limitations, and
Klobucher, T 2011, Characteristics of Generation 2020: Generations at Work, The Great Workplace Revolution, accessed 11 November 2013, http://www.thegreatworkplacerevolution.com/characteristics-of-generation-2020-generations-at-work/
For the first time in history, there are four generations of people working side by side in the workplace. Think about your place employment and the different people who work there. It is sometimes hard to get your point across to someone in a different age generation. This especially becomes a problem in the supervisor employee relationship. In order to effectively communicate with your peers, you have to understand the context in which they view the world. This problem is a real concern for managers. There has even been a Center for Generational Studies created.
Each generation leaves an impression on our future, despite whether it is a positive impression or a negative one. This lasting impression is often referred to as generational potency. By obtaining new tools and opportunities from the mistakes and triumphs of those who came before them, every generation tries to make themselves heard. Therefore, the concept of generational potency is something that largely exists in our great nation. As Tamara Erickson said, “The truth is, without even trying, you will bring fresh perspectives to work because many of the ways you approach problems are different from the way it has always been done” (Erickson, 7). Everyone has a different outlook obtained from the knowledge you gain from past experiences and influences. For, we would be foolish to discard the wisdom and experience of those who came before us. Just as the Great War generation in the twenties impacted the decisions made in the “Greatest Generation,” all generations preceding 1977 h...
Robbins (2013) recognizes that baby boomers have an enormous hard-working attitude with a definitive want to characterize themselves through their expert achievements. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 value their achievement, ambition, loyalty to career and dislike to authority in competitive workplace (Robbins and Judge, 2017). Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1977, who are independent-minded like work-life balance, team-oriented, loyalty to relationship and dislike of rules. The generation born between 1978 and later, known as Millennials value flexible hours, teamwork and collaborative culture, career development, loyalty to both self and relationships with employers and dislike the formality of regular meetings if there
Zemke, Ron. (2013). Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Boomers, Gen Xers & Gen Yers in the workplace. Edition #2.