Susan Klingle-Dowd, professor of communication, Ball State University
on "Leadership Styles"
at the 2009 Women Working in Technology (WWiT) conference
1. Prof. K-D covering communication as basis of leadership.
2. Historical coverage of 20th century management approaches,
starting with Taylor on scientific management
of work processes in directing time and motion,
through the human resources model, with people as the prime means getting work done.
3. Major focus on attitude; participants think it's one of the most important attributes
of "who we are and what we are"--
4. "You can not NOT communicate" Paul Watzlawick
axiom is key to leadership--you communicate even if you think you don't.
4.1 Suggestions for this point--especially in criticisms:
-- criticize the work, not the person
-- give criticism bracketed by positives
-- Kirsten Smith: consider them innocent before assuming them guilty
4.2 Prof. K-D says, "don't be afraid to make a mistake" and references Bill Gates, who says "hire people who have made a major mistake"--they should have learned from it, and maybe learned more by their mistakes.
Here's a quote paraphrasing Gates, from the link in 4.2:
Reflecting on his early mistakes, Gates considers each and every one a part of the learning experience that got him to where he is today. For Gates, making mistakes was simply a natural part of the experimentation process. He always kept his calm and rationalized that every mistake was “correctable”, with the important thing being to “wake up and see what the results were.” What has always been significant for Gates is not the mistakes that he made along the way, but what he learned each time in bouncing back from them. And, there was always something to be learned.4.3 You can control your thoughts, your responses. Do this before responding immediately in a communication situation.
4.4 There is nothing more powerful than being able to control yourself, and not enter into other people's way of treating you, and thinking about you. And one of the main ways you do that is through communication and verbal responsiveness.
4.5 One participant, owner of IT consulting company, gives first hour free consultancy meeting. Principle going in = 80:20. "We will listen 80 percent of the time in the upcoming meeting; speak 20 percent." You have to make the assumption that you are there because they want to have your competencies, so listen to what they are outlining.
5.0 Only seven percent of communication is by verbal means; the rest of communication is nonverbal.
Thus if you only listen to or get the words, you're missing most of the communication.
5.1 Your intrapersonal communication determines most of your interaction with other people
6.0 Prof. K-D gives out an exercise in intrapersonal communication approaches, which refracts participant responses into five styles:
-- Avoiding
-- Accommodating
-- Competing
--Compromising
--Problem Solving