Dec 05 2008
To Lead By Communication
And my examination of the styles of leadership concludes with leaders by communication.
Because of how difficult this style of leadership is to write, and how hard a time it can have getting a job done, communication-leadership rarely appears on its own in a character. Instead, it shows up in conjunction with the other two types. Delegation-leaders find understanding of communication useful because it allows adding how people will react to situations (X is good at Y but doesn’t believe that she is, X and Q have complementary skills but can’t stand each other) to the factors they can employ when assigning tasks; inspiration-leaders often find that understanding the little people makes them seem even more admirable (or gives them a better idea how to keep said little people under control).
The key skill of a communication-leader is empathy. He knows what makes the people around him tick—likes and dislikes, fears and dreams, ambitions, relationships, feuds, you name it. As a result, he’s good at keeping the peace. He mediates disputes, prevents problems before they start, and makes sure everyone’s motivated with something that fits the personality. On the other hand, he might be a master manipulator, using his knowledge of all the little things to make sure people are motivated to do what he wants them to do and trust whomever he feels worthy. Nobody ever said leaders, even communication-leaders, had to be nice!
Oftentimes, a communication-leader is a power behind the throne. There are a lot of reasons for this, including plausible deniability if things go wrong, knowledge that the subordinates wouldn’t want to take orders from him, avoiding conflict with someone who wants to be in charge, deferring to someone with greater skill or greater symbolic heft while making sure the concerns of communication are taken into account, or just feeling that he will be more approachable without a big intimidating title.
Like the inspiration-leader, the communication-leader will often understand the value of public relations. After all, it’s how he keeps his job. But instead of looking at what’s overall impressive and awe-inspiring, he looks at the situation in terms of who’s going to take offense and who’s going to react favorably, both to his actions and those of other groups. Everything is interconnected, and the communication-leader understands this.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the communication-leader is going to know how to get the job done, though; his job is to keep the organization together, and then to worry about the objectives.
Then there are the characterization issues. The communication-leader has a lot of the same problems the delegation-leader does, in that knowing his subordinates can make ordering them to take risks a lot more difficult. This, in fact, goes double for him, as something that needs to be done may provoke a reaction that would be detrimental to his attempts to keep the group together. What do you prioritize, at times like that? There’s also the question of what they do about the weaknesses in their style, and, if they hide behind a more obvious leader, how they feel about this arrangement.
Think you’re getting the types? Good. I’ve only just gotten started; stay tuned!
