Imagine for a moment that you belonged to a club where the president of the club did everything by herself. She used only her ideas and never listened to the thoughts and feelings of the members. Don’t you think you would become frustrated and angry with her? Would you feel unheard and unimportant because she continually shot down the ideas of others? This is not good leadership. A good leader understands the importance of listening to what others have to say and makes people feel heard and understood. What if instead the president had taken the time to listen to what each member had to say and acknowledged their ideas? Not only would the club members feel like they had more say in what happened in the club, they would also gain a greater respect for the president as a leader.
Although my focus for my ELI this semester has been on becoming a better public speaker and communicator, one of my main goals was to apply communication and public speaking skills to leading and apply the skills I learn to my leadership. The communication process plays a very vital role in leadership because without it how would a leader lead?
A leader is someone who has a purpose and is able to convince others of the importance of her purpose. It is through good communication skills that a person is able to do this. In the book The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Good Leader, John C. Maxwell states, “People will not follow you if they do not know what you want or where you are going.” Clear communication enables a leader to share her point of view while responding to the opinions and ideas of others in such a way that makes them feel heard and important. People are more likely to follow a leader when they feel like their ideas are taken seriously.
Communication is a long process that takes a lot of work before perfection is reached. If a leader implements the necessary aspects of communication into how she interacts with others, she will create stronger credibility and gain more support for her ideas.
-Elli
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