Leadership and Communication Skills

When leading policy change there are many important communication skills to consider.  These include but are not limited to: clarity in communication, leading in a collaborative manner, and actively listening to others (Bambacas & Patrickson, 2008).  

Of these, I feel the two most important are clarity and active listening.  In a leadership role, one must be able to send clear messages in order to avoid confusion in the group.  Moreover, being misunderstood can result in wasted time resources due to mismanagement of priorities.  Clarity ensures that everyone involved is on the right track.
Active listening is also critically important as a leader, just as active listening is important in any role.  Active listening models to others that one cares about the other and one is making effort in not just hearing but understanding what the other party is trying to convey.  In addition, it can prevent miscommunication which is important when trying to maintain efficiency and reaching objectives.  Active listening means one is physically focused on the speaker, uses body language to convey one is listening, and ends with the listener repeating back what was heard to ensure understanding (Conflict Research Consortium, 1998).
Upon reflection, I feel that my strongest strength is in modeling active listening through body language.  When listening, my body faces the speaker, and I am often nodding while doing so.  Additionally, I make much eye contact and use facial expression to share my feelings while one is speaking.  Having conference speakers approach me following their presentations and thanking me for showing interest throughout has confirmed for me that I do well in this area, as well as demonstrates that these behaviors are appreciated by speakers, even when one is part of a very large crowd!
An area in which I would like to improve is in clarity.  In my quest to be fully understood, I yield that I may excessively talk out a scenario rather than being both clear, as well as concise.  In a world, and especially a profession in which time is a critical commodity, it is useful to be able to be both clear and concise.  Moreover, one can lose the audience’s attention if over explaining a topic.

References

Bambacas, M., & Patrickson, M. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment. Journal of Communication Management, 12(1), 51-72. doi:10.1108/13632540810854235

Conflict Research Consortium - University of Colorado. (1998). Active listening. Retrieved from http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/activel.htm