Communicating Effectively

Leadership - Communicating Effectively HOW TO GUIDE for Academic & Support Staff with Leadership / Management Roles

•

Introduction – The purpose of the How To Guide

2

•

Why effective communication is important for those in leadership and management roles at Cardiff University

2

Practical tips for effective communication •

Leadership in Action (Effective Communication) - Self Assessment Tool

3

•

Practical guidelines on effective communication for good equality and diversity practice

4

•

General good practice – communication

4

•

Communication options

5

•

Getting the best from face-to-face communication

6

Appendix •

Finding out more – a selection of external weblinks on communication

7

Introduction – the purpose of the How To Guide The Leadership “How To” guides are primarily aimed at helping with the leadership and management, both of individuals and teams. The guidelines can be of use when leading people from any category of staff. The objectives of these guides are threefold: 1. To offer guidance on how to get the best out of existing Cardiff University HR policies and procedures. 2. To suggest information and sources of further support, both within the University and external to it that can be of use to the leader. 3. To offer practical tips on key areas of good practice in human resource management and leadership. There are three “How To” guides that support leadership and management. These are:

Communicating Effectively Leadership Essentials Managing Performance

Developing People

Each guide is complete in itself, but together they provide a useful range human resource management practice tailored for those in leadership roles within the University. Why effective communication is important for those in leadership and management roles at Cardiff University Leaders, at all levels within the University, are responsible for communicating effectively to those they lead. Firstly, it is the leader’s role to make explicit the vision of what their area of work intends to achieve and secondly, how that vision fits with the University’s vision for the future. Another aspect of the leader’s communication role is to facilitate dialogue with those who do the research or the teaching or deliver the support services within the University as well as maintain the appropriate level of dialogue with important external stakeholder groups, such as the NHS, Welsh Assembly Government and the business community. Through this communication, ideas and suggestions for improving how the institution functions can be encouraged and supported so that these improvements are made. In addition, through dialogue with individuals as well as groups, leaders ensure that concerns are voiced, issues and risks identified in a timely way. In this way the views of all people can be taken into account when decisions are made or actions taken.

2

Practical tips for effective communication Leadership in Action (Effective Communication) - Self-assessment Tool This is a self-assessment tool to help all people in leadership roles focus on the key actions that other people expect from them in terms of their leadership. There are expectations that the leader will take the lead role in communication.

Key actions for Leaders never

Self-assessment sometimes often

always

Ensuring that others understand what the key goals of the University are. Ensuring that others understand how the key strategic objectives of the School / Directorate link to the University’s goals. Ensuring that others understand how their individual objectives fit into the key School / Directorate objectives. Ensuring that others understand how their work fits with the work of other individuals and teams within the School / Directorate. Keeping others up to date with what is happening in the University and the School / Directorate and how that may affect their work. Consulting others when changes to the work methods or work roles in the School / Directorate are planned. Briefing others and giving them opportunities to ask questions or raise issues when changes to the work methods or work roles in the School / Directorate are introduced. Agreeing with others responsibilities for transmitting, cascading and/or briefing key information to other people in the School / Directorate.

Actions to improve: What needs to change

(Those that score never or sometimes)

How to change

3

When by

Who can help

Practical guidelines on effective communication for good equality and diversity practice Good practice as regards equality and diversity when communicating means: a. Ensuring that all staff have access to appropriate information and resources that enable them to fulfil their job role competently. Also, ensuring that the y have been explicitly informed about how gain access to the resource they need and have been directed where to locate relevant information. b. Ensuring that there is a clear structure through which staff receive relevant information and that staff are informed of this structure. For example, in a small team, staff may be given information which is relevant to them on a one-to-one basis by a line manager. In a larger team, communication may be by team meetings or email. c. Ensuring that communications would not reasonably be interpreted as offensive or intimidating in either language or tone. d. Ensuring that all staff have opportunities to offer suggestions, share ideas, raise concerns and ask questions about the way work is done or can be improved within their School / Directorates. This individual approach values the diversity of people within the University community, helps to eliminate potential barriers to continuous improvement of its processes, and contributes to creating an inclusive University culture. General Good Practice – Effective Communication Good communications: ü Are polite / respectful at all times. ü Are concise, clear and appropriate to the target group. ü Avoid implicit assumptions and information and make information, guidelines, instructions, assumptions and expectations explicit. ü Discourage exclusive communication processes in favour of inclusive communication processes wherever appropriate and possible. Good Communicators: ü Encourage engagement and dialogue – actively seek information, opinions, ideas from others. ü Listen first (seek to understand before seeking to be understood). ü Practice active listening - summarising what people have just said and asking intelligent follow-up questions to demonstrate listening. ü Ask questions and allow others to ask questions. ü Express their own feelings and allow others to express theirs. ü Maintain their own self esteem and helping others to maintain theirs. ü Use email appropriately to supplement face-to-face interaction, not in place of it.

4

Communication Options In broad terms communication is either done face-to-face or at a distance, usually in writing either by electronic means (usually as emails) or with printed documents. Both means have their advantages and disadvantages (see below). However, face-to-face communication is particularly required of those in leadership roles. This is because it is extremely difficult to influence the behaviour of individuals and motivate teams, solely through written means. Face-to-face One-to-one meeting

High

Team briefings

Written Meetings, presentations, training

Personal email, letter, memo

Info. on web, in doc’s, articles, etc.

Newsletters, brochures, etc.

Impact and likely influence on individual behaviour Advantages

Advantages

§ §

§ § §

Immediate feedback. Can be tailored to audience and mood. § Flexible. § Can encourage dialogue.

An automatic record. Can be concise. Can be refined and edited to minimise ambiguity. § Allows time for thought.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages

§ §

§ §

Time consuming. Cannot always guarantee attendance / participation. § Nearly always requires follow-up activities. § Can become side-tracked away from original purpose.

5

Easy to ignore. Greater possibility of being misconstrued.

Low

Getting the best from face-to-face communication One-to-one Meetings

Team Briefings

Meetings

Best suited for:

Best employed, for:

Most suitable for:

§

§

§ §

§ § § § §

Individual instructions. Counseling about personal problems / issues. Annual Appraisals or formal performance reviews. Discussion of individual development needs. Individual coaching and/or mentoring. Discussion of discipline issues.

§

Transmission of top-down information / update. Team sharing of information.

§ § § §

Consulting people. Discussing issues in depth. Generating ideas. Resolving problems. Reaching decisions. Agreeing collective responsibilities.

Good practice:

Good practice:

Good practice:

§

§

§

§

§ §

Allow easy access (“open-door”) but encourage making of appointments. Ensure privacy, comfortable surroundings and allow sufficient time. Ideally, listen 80% and talk 20% only. Encourage people you plan to meet with to give you advance information, where appropriate, so that you can adequately prepare for the meeting

§

§ § §

Brief (10 to 30 minutes d uration ideal). Regular so people can plan attendance (daily, weekly, monthly). Information only. Questions only for clarification. Problems / issues raised are then taken either one-toone meetings or planned group meetings of involved people to discuss in depth, resolve problems or make decisions.

6

§ § § §

An explicit theme or aim. Scheduled & notified adequately in advance. Written agenda. Duration planned (to allow enough time for effective meeting). Key people invited i.e: those involved, those affected or those who contribute as designated representatives.

Appendix External web links on communication The Plain English Society http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ The Plain English society provides a lot of free guidance on how to write clearly and succinctly. Smythe Dorward Lambert http://www.smythe.co.uk/ Smythe Dorward Lambert started as a consultancy in internal communication in 1989 and its site includes some good case studies of internal communication supporting the change process. Business Open Learning Archive (BOLA) http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/ This website contains a sizeable archive of articles and information covering most major business issues, including ‘Power, Organisations and Management’. Program on Negotiation www.pon.harvard.edu The Program On Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School’s website contains information on the program itself, and the Harvard Negotiation Project. Negotiate Ltd www.negotiate.co.uk Gavin Kennedy’s negotiation business is a useful source of information on negotiation, in addition to his books and negotiation workshops. International Transactional Analysis Association www.itaa-net.org This website contains information regarding Eric Berne and TA, including news and events, the history of TA, and publications and resources. Body Language The Association of Neuro-linguistic Programming (ANLP) is a good starting point which offers ideas on introductory materials concerned with body language. http://anlp.org/index.asp?CatName=Resources&CatID=11

7