Leadership and Values in Language Education - Al Akhawayn ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

92Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conferencepositive or negative feedback of the receiver, which could be verbal or nonverbal,often determines whether the message was adequately interpreted or not.According to Samovar et al. (1981:13-14): “communication is complete onlywhen the intended receiver perceives the message, attributes meaning to it, and isaffected by it”. So a leader should constantly be aware of this fact so as to beready to adjust or change the direction of his speech to the end that convergeswith the needs of his followers if he claims to be empathetic in his relationshipand democratic in his style of leading.This is not the case of a manager who acts as an information processor whose roleis to inform his employees in a neutral and sometimes in a mechanical waybecause he treats them like “objects” or numbers and does not care about theirfeelings and their feedback. Some managers stick to the rule “Hire and Fire”,which means that they can reject a worker any time if he does not satisfy thecompany and hire another worker immediately.It is undeniable that managers have a big communication responsibility whiledirecting their company. What matters for them is to provide accurateinformation, sometimes supported with statistics. Another difference between aleader and a manager is that the former always tries to ‘communicate the wholepicture -the vision - rather than facts and pieces of information’ (see Daft, 1999).Thus, it is the duty of leaders to direct their followers’ attention toward the visionand values of their organization. To this effect, they may be compelled to usemany communication methods such as rich channels of communication, stories,metaphors and dialogue. This is briefly explained below.2. An open Communication ClimateTo be successful and more fruitful, leadership communication requires an openclimate within the organization in the sense that there should be felt equalitybetween all members in expressing their opinions and sharing information. Therelationship gets closer between the leader and his followers when his speech, hisactions and his behaviour truly reflect the ideas and values he embraces. Thefollowers feel secure and have no inferiority complex or psychological barrierssince the hierarchical levels are deliberately ignored. This ‘friendly’ environmentof communication, which is created by the talented and visionary leader, does alsoraise the followers self-esteem and motivation and consequently communicationcan be diffused easily in all directions in a constructive and transparent manner.This stands in sharp contrast with management communication, where
93Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conferencehierarchical levels are prominent and managers strictly follow the top-down flowof information to their subordinates, based exclusively on an autocratic style.Another skill that a leader should have is to know how to engage in a dialoguerather than a discussion. A dialogue is a logical outcome of active listening whenit spreads throughout an organization. A dialogue’s emphasis is on the feelings ofparticipants and the possibility to establish common ground, which is not the casewith discussion since the latter is limited to the topic under consideration andusually encourages opposition between individuals and may often lead to conflict.So , a dialogue is a clear index of mutual understanding, harmony andachievement of shared objectives. This is the satisfaction that both leader andfollowers strive to attain in their collaborative endeavour to make a positivechange in their organization, in particular, and their society in general.3. Rich Communication ChannelsAs pointed out by Daft, a channel is a medium by which a communicationmessage is carried from sender to receiver. Leaders have a choice of manychannels through which to communicate to subordinates. A leader may discuss aproblem face-to-face, use the telephone, etc., depending on the nature of themessage.Face-to-face discussion is the richest medium, because it permits directexperience, multiple information cues, immediate feedback, and personal focus.Because a leader is always expected to communicate his new ideas to a largeaudience, he may be obliged to choose public speaking. In this case, he has to bewell prepared, articulate, full of enthusiasm and able to impress the public. Heshould also support his ideas by logical arguments and emotional appeals. Mostimportantly, he needs to make use of stories and metaphors. This technique ismade explicit below.4. Stories and MetaphorsCommunication encounters can be enriched by leaders who are conscious of thelanguage they use, and the definitions and context they create with their language.The choice of the best terms, the use of the appropriate metaphors help leaders tomake sense of situations in ways that will be understood similarly throughout theorganization or to the audience he is addressing. Consider the meaning conveyedby a leader telling followers:
Page 1 and 2:
1Proceedings of the 27 thMATE Annua
Page 3 and 4:
3Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annu
Page 6 and 7:
Page 8 and 9:
Page 10:
10Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Ann
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 41 and 42: 41Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Ann
Page 91: 91Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Ann
Page 101 and 102: 101Proceedings of the 27 th MATE An
Page 131: 131Proceedings of the 27 th MATE An
show all

Leadership and Values in Language Education - Al Akhawayn ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?