Leading in Circles: Leadership and Communication

     No it’s not a typo, this week’s blog title is all about circles, in a good way.  It’s about the communication methods and leadership skills that successful leaders already know, and of which aspiring leaders should take note.  Every pun intended, this week’s blog circles back to Simon Sinek’s 2009 TEDTalk on “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” and pulls from his most current TEDTalk in March 2014 called, “Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe.”  With these TEDTalks in mind we’ll look at leadership and communication within an organization.  More specifically we’re going to look at transformational leadership and transactional communication.  Finally, this week’s blog will conclude with a personal share from this week’s quarterly commander’s call at the Air Force base where I work.

Transformational Leadership

     

     The “Golden Circle” was coined by Sinek and represents how leaders can inspire action by making sure that members of their organization understand and support the organizational why.  The mission and the vision of an organization is made up of the three do’s: what they do, how they do it, and why they do it.  Sinek clarifies with this, “Leaders tell people why – Authority tells people what to do” (2011).  Along these lines I have had the privilege of serving in and working for the U.S. Air Force.  During my experiences I must concur with the others who find military leaders often have a specialness to their leadership.  “Military leadership is based on the concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice; we take an oath to that effect” (Kolditz, 2009).  Kolditz goes on to point out that “our leadership extends to caring for the families of our soldies, sailors, airmen, or marines, especially when service members are deployed” (2009).  Military leaders, great military leaders, employ transformational leadership.  Kloditz points out that this occurs when followers are “led in ways that inspire, rather than require, trust and confidence”.  He also goes on to say that, when followers have trust and confidence in a charismatic leader, they are transformed into willing, rather than merely compliant, agents.  “The best leadership-whether in peacetime or war-is born as a conscientious obligation to serve.  In many business environs it is difficult to inculcate a value set that makes leaders servants to their followers.  In contrast, leaders who have operated in the crucibles common to military and other dangerous public service occupations tend to hold such values.  Tie selflessness with the adaptive capacity, innovation, and flexibility demanded by dangerous contexts, and one can see the value of military leadership as a model for leaders in the private sector” (Kolditz, 2009).

     These snippets from Kloditz’s article, “Why the Military Produces Great Leaders” ties in nicely with Simon Sinek’s most recent TEDTalk entitled “Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe” (2014).  This talk is a powerful commentary on leadership.  Not surprisingly in his talk the first narrative he shares is of a military-related story (I won’t spoil it for you, the link to this TEDTalk is in the works cited below).  One of the key aspects of this story is that good leaders will sacrifice so that their people might gain.  This differs from many business leaders because we often see and hear of their self-gain at the sacrifice of others.  Additionally, Sinek likens good leaders to good parents in that both groups give opportunities, discipline when required, coach, and support.  All of this to “build them up to achieve more than we could have imagined for ourselves.”  In another TEDTalk, this one by a retired 4-star general and West Point graduate, Stanley McChrystal, aptly titled, “Listen, Learn…Then Lead” (2011) he states that “leaders can let you fail and not let you be a failure.”  In so doing good leaders create a circle of trust within their organization, much like how good parents create an environment of trust in their family.  People feel safe and in turn, they will support each other.  Leaders can be found at any organizational level, they are the folks who are taking care of the person to their right and left.  They are the folks who are establishing the circles of trust, guiding people to the golden circle and the why we do it, and building upon their shared purpose, values, and beliefs with the people on either side.  In another TEDTalk, Drew Dudley claims that everyday leadership is the “everyday act of improving each other’s lives” (2010).  He goes on to end his talk with a powerful Marianne Williamson quote from her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles, “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

Transactional Communication

    It’s tremendously important that your organization foster an atmosphere of openness and create systems that will lead to the freest flow possible of, not only information, but ideas, feelings, and a sense of shared purpose” (Rabinowitz, 2015).  This shared sense of purpose unifies an organization and promotes transactional communication.  Transactional communication, simply put, is when people are simultaneously sending and receiving messages.  This method of communicating, which focuses on a symbolic and functioning model, is of import to organizational communication because it is “more interactive and more of a social interaction” (Barnlund, 2008).  With the constant emergence of newer electronic methods at our disposal it is apparent how transactional communication is becoming more prevalent.   

     In the article entitled, “E-Communication and the Art of Leadership” (Klein and Klein, 2016) the E stands for electronic, but it just as well could have stood for emerging.  Electronic communication is a large part of how organizations communicate in today’s environment.  Methods range from Blackberry to smartphone, intranet to internet, shared drives to emails and these all allow leadership to engage, share, and disseminate throughout their organization.  In this article the authors point out that for all of the advantages to e-communication there are also possible negative side effects.  So e-communication helps us connect faster and from farther distances, but at the same time it is removes some of the human interactions from the communication equation.  Our emails do not emote, no matter how much emotion we may put into these messages.  This is a type of “buyer beware”, or in this case I’d like to call it “communicator considerations”. 

     As we discussed the power of the circle of trust it should be noted that there could be issues with that trust from a misuse of e-communication.  “More damaging is the potential for micromanagement and the erosion of trust” say Klein and Klein.  “With the ease of gathering and sharing information some of the decision making and responsibilities are shifted and this shift can lead to disempowerment and damage to trust within the organization.”  The authors do not advocate for an end to shared information, they only point out that it has negative potential.  The main point I’d like to stress from this article is “the potential impact leaders should be most mindful of is how our communication style affects trust” (Klein and Klein, 2016).

Just This Week

60th Air Mobility Wing, Commander’s Call

hosted by 60 AMW/CC, Colonel John Klein

     First, for my readers not familiar with a commander’s call I’ve called upon our friend Wikipedia for some help.  “A commander's call is typically a mandatory gathering in which a commander speaks to his or her people (i.e. in the Air Force, those assigned to his or her wing, group, squadron, or flight, depending on the position of the commander) regarding pertinent current or upcoming information (such as a work section opening/closing, or a new program being implemented) or concerns (such as an increase in Driving Under the Influence incidents). Commanders are usually required to address their people quarterly per year (at a minimum)”.

     During this quarter’s commander’s call as I was sitting in the, filled to capacity, base theater, on one of the six sessions being offered for the week, I found myself completely tuned in to what our commander was communicating to his people.  After a process review of the wing’s mission, vision, and priorities, by an all rank inclusive group, Colonel Klein was prepared to communicate these new actionable items to his followers.  From start to finish, I was impressed with his use of circles, transformational leadership, and transactional communication.  Here is an Air Force leader who “gets it”.  He started with the why and easily shifted to a unifying vision that established trust through a shared sense of purpose.  I even took note of a few phrases I felt were especially compelling for those under his command. Colonel Klein, when discussing the implementation of the wing’s golden circle of why, what, and how said, “there is no playbook.  You are the playbook.”  Everyone has a part in the success of this wing’s mission, vision, and priorities and with such charismatic leadership odds are good that under his command success will be met.  He ended his call with these words, “Does anybody want to be the 2^nd best mobility force in the Air Force?  If you say yes, I don’t think I want you on my team.  Don’t ever underestimate the importance of what you do.”  Now that’s a communication style and a leader I can support wholeheartedly.     

*BONUS SHARE* This week’s bonus share is in honor of Veteran’s Day on the 11^th day of the 11^th month.  Please take a moment to thank a veteran, “All gave some; some gave all.” 

                                           

 

Works Cited:

Barnlund, D.C. (2008). A Transactional Model of Communication.  Communication Theory.  Retrieved on 7 November 2016 from https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/books/9783110878752/9783110878752.fm/9783110878752.fm.xml#page=45.

Klein, J. Official Air Force Biography.  Retrieved on 9 November 2016 from http://www.travis.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/816530/colonel-john-m-klein-jr.

Kolditz, T. (2009) “Why the Military Produces Great Leaders”. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved on 7 November 2016 from https://hbr.org/2009/02/why-the-military-produces-grea.html.

Rabinowitz, P. (2015) “Promoting Internal Communication”. Retrieved on 8 November 2016 from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/effective-manager/internal-communication/main.

Sinek, S. March 2014. “Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe”. Retrieved on 7 November 2016 from https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe?language=en.

Sinek, S. April 2011 “First Why and Then Trust”. Retrieved on 7 November 2016 from http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxMaastricht-Simon-Sinek-Firs.

Sinek, S. September 2009. “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. Retrieved on 16 October 2016

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en.

Williamson, M. (1996). “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles” 

Harper Collins, New York.

Commander’s Call. Wikipedia.  Retrieved on 8 November 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander%27s_call.