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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

94Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual ConferenceEvery morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastestlion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it mustrun faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether youare a lion or a gazelle- when the sun comes up, you’d better be running (cited inDaff, 1999:168).As we can see from this short passage, the use of the terms “gazelle” and “lion”goes beyond the literal meaning to convey the idea of hard work, a non-stop race.The image is so striking that it makes the listener deeply involved and willing tounderstand the metaphorical use of the language. The gazelle seems to representthe weak (the workers) and the lion stands for the strong (the boss). The shortpassage above shows that it is a matter of life or death if one of these two animalsdoes not run fast (starve/killed). The act of “running” means competition andsacrifice to maximize production in the workplace. In this way, the leader makeshis language powerful and inspiring, which helps him communicate his messageeffectively while gaining the admiration and respect of his followers. In fact, it isoften the case that the audience go beyond the verbal interaction while listening toa leader. They pay more attention to his appearance and other features as thefollowing paragraph reveals.5. Symbols and informal communicationIt is undeniable that leaders are watched, and their appearance, behaviour, actionsand attitudes are symbolic to others. Symbols are a powerful tool forcommunicating what is important. Therefore, leaders are aware of what theysignal to others in addition to verbal messages. Indeed, nonverbal communication,i.e., messages transmitted through action and behaviour accounts for over one halfof the entire message received in a personal encounter. People interpret Leaderactions as symbols, just as they attach meaning to words. Leaders use their actionsto symbolize their vision and their commitment to it. They draw attention tospecific values and ideas, as used to be the case with Martin Luther King when hewas defending the rights of black Americans in the sixties, or Nelson Mandelawhen he was fighting apartheid in South Africa. What makes the leader’s speechmore influential is when he resorts to informal communication. This strategy ofinformality narrows down the gap between the speaker and listeners. It isimportant not only because it is symbolic of leader vision, but also because it hasgreat impact on participants. Some Moroccan political leaders resort to itconsciously or unconsciously, but it is their right to use all strategies to gain theattention of the audience, to influence the members of the listeners and push themto act in the direction one is driving at.
95Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual ConferenceFinally, it is crucial to note that leaders should be aware of the audience’sfeedback. This could guide them better and help them increase theircommunication effectiveness and improve the organization where they work. Theresult of feedback is change—positive change in the follower and in theorganization.ConclusionEffective communication is a vital element of leadership. Leaders make choicesabout how to communicate with others. In an organization, the shift to opencommunication is far reaching in its effect. An open climate paves the way formore opportunities to communicate with followers; more practice at listeningactively, more opportunities to use rich channels are expected; more chances torepeat the leader’s vision through true feelings and symbolic actions. In addition,a conscious choice to communicate through stories, metaphors, and meaningfullanguage enables a leader to direct attention to specific ideas , and have a lastingimpact on followers. Finally, using feedback as an essential tool forcommunication provides the leader a means by which to develop followers andtransform organizations. This is a challenging task that needs more efforts,honesty, competence, patience and self-confidence.ReferencesBarker, L, L. et al (1991) Groups in Process: An Introduction to Small GroupCommunication. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Daft, Richard L. (1999) Leadership: theory and Practice. The Dryden Press,Harcourt Brace College Publishers, New York.DeVito, J.A. (1997). Human communication: the basic course. 7 th ed. New York:Longman.__________. (2003). Messages: building interpersonal communication skills.5 thed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.Fiske, J. (1999). Introduction to communication studies. 2 nd ed. London:Routledge.Grice T. G. & Skinner F. J. (1995). Mastering Public Speaking. 2 nd ed. Boston:Allyn and BaconKeller George (1983) Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution inAmericanHigher Education. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.Komives et al (1998) Exploring Leadership. Jossey-Bass Publishers, SanFransisco.
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:
Page 43 and 44: 43Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Ann
Page 93: 93Proceedings 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 ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?