Great L E A D E R S ARE
GREAT
COMMUNICATORS
Great GREAT L E A D E R S
ARE
COMMUNICATORS
Assistant Professor Jennifer Cummings explains why the strength of your communication skills can influence your success as a leader. BY JENNIFER CUMMINGS (AS TOLD TO SARA LANGEN) Good communication skills are critical to effective leadership. A leader has to convey his or her vision in a way that connects with people at all levels and in all arenas. Leaders are usually in leadership positions because they have strong visions, but it‘s up to them to communicate the vision in a way that attracts people, gains their trust and inspires confidence in one’s leadership. What sets a great leader apart is the ability to do that while still being open to hearing other people‘s input. One of the most common communication mistakes executives make is not listening. It‘s a skill most of us think we do well enough, and research shows we really don‘t. Studies on misunderstanding demonstrate that people walk away thinking that they‘re on the same page a lot more often than they
really are. Listening skills are a big part of that, and it‘s connected to more than just understanding content. In the business communication courses I teach at Eccles, we talk a lot about listening for comprehension. The first thing we can do better is to pause and make sure that we have really processed the other person‘s ideas or critique. Before we go to defend it or explain our own position, have we really understood the proposal or complaint? When we do that, not only are we on much safer ground with the information, but we‘re also building trust. It shows that you value that person’s contribution. When you do have to disagree or turn down a suggestion, it’s about making sure people feel heard and understood. Listening also opens you up to learning.
Professor Jennifer Cummings teaching Communications & Interpersonal Effectiveness
We can never assume we‘re the smartest person in the room. Listening keeps you humble, it keeps you learning and it keeps you using the good people that you‘ve hired. We start with that concept in my courses. My areas of expertise include interpersonal and professional communication, conflict management, leadership, self-presentation and image management, emotional intelligence, public speaking and team relations. As a certified mediator and group facilitator, I enjoy helping people navigate difficult conversations and work through challenging or contentious interpersonal relations. I actually started as a business major here at the University of Utah. I felt drawn to business, but it wasn’t clicking for me. Then I took a communication class, and it lit up my world. I loved the theories and ideas. I didn‘t know people actually studied things like relationship patterns, the ways people engage in conflict, how they support each other or how they persuade each other. These were things I always enjoyed observing.
I ended up earning three degrees — my bachelor‘s, my master‘s and my Ph.D. — in communications. The field is a fun balance of novelty and predictability. I enjoy the science of it, but I’m intrigued by the human aspect as well — human behavior and the patterns of behavior that we demonstrate in relationships. I like to look at which ones lead to healthier outcomes and which lead to more dissatisfying outcomes. We discuss these topics in the Executive Education program, Effective Teams and Feedback. Feedback is a newer body of research, but the power of asking for feedback is propelling people to more success. It‘s another skill that‘s underutilized, because we‘re protective of our work. Most of us have an ideal version of ourselves in our head — there’s the me I want to be, and then there‘s the me I am now, with some discrepancy between those two visions. Feedback is one of our most helpful tools to figure out the “where I am now” piece. We can trust our own judgment to a certain extent, but it helps to have other people say where our strengths lie and the areas we could work
on. Receiving feedback helps us see our makes teams work and what makes them blind spots. a fun way to work. We discuss how we can strengthen Participants learn how to build a team ourselves by having more frequent environment that pulls in each team feedback conversations, both giving and member and creates a space where receiving. Research shows that people everyone feels comfortable sharing who seek feedback benefit professionally ideas, while allowing for disagreement in three ways: They adapt more quickly and conflict resolution. We discuss to new rules, they score higher on research on more and less effective performance ratios and they report higher communication patterns and methods of job satisfaction. This skill of seeking out helping teams tap into the full measure of feedback continually and being strong in their resources. the face of it has excellent We also explore how to results, because people collaborate with different Leaders are usually see you as ambitious, work styles. Some people confident, eager to learn are visionaries, while in leadership and teachable. some are driven to keep I walk students through the team moving. Some positions because a five-step process for people are concerned how to have that feedback with following policy and they have strong conversation and make rules, while others are it more effective. We talk good at connecting and visions, but it‘s about how to prepare and making sure relationships manage any emotional are healthy. Executives up to them to triggers in advance; I coach come out of the program communicate the them through how to calm with a bigger appreciation that reactive tendency and for these differing work vision in a way that just stay open. styles. It means team Accepting criticism is members have your back attracts people, not easy. There‘s a little in different ways and they element of sting in it make the team more well gains their trust and sometimes, but one of the rounded because of it. things I hope the program When teams have a good inspires confidence helps us do is to push past working relationship, their that and get to how this is productivity is usually in one’s leadership. going to help us. Once you higher. receive the information, Executive Education isn’t that‘s just the beginning. You now have just for people looking to acquire new to spend some time analyzing it and skills. The courses are also designed for deciding which parts are useful. professionals and leaders with a high level The program also examines employing of skill, competence and talent. What this communication tools to build effective program offers is the chance to take that teams. Teamwork is sometimes unpopular to the next level. It’s about fine-tuning and because you tend to think of the snags refining skills to make you feel polished that you hit. There are difficult people and more confident. It gives executives a to work with; it‘s hard to coordinate. chance to dive deeper and get cuttingSometimes, you get bogged down in edge research on new techniques and disagreement or you get groupthink. The trends in these topics. Those who do are program reenergizes you and reminds much sharper for it. you what we love about teams, what
Meet JENNIFER CUMMINGS As an Associate Professor and Lecturer in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, Dr. Jennifer Cummings enjoys teaching in the Full-Time MBA, Professional MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Education, Masters of Accounting, and Undergraduate Management Department programs. Dr. Cummings is an expert in interpersonal and professional communication, conflict management, leadership, emotional intelligence, public speaking, self-presentation and image management, and team relations. As a certified mediator and group facilitator, she enjoys helping people navigate difficult conversations and work through challenging or contentious interpersonal relations. In 2001 Dr. Cummings received her M.S. in 2001 and then her Ph.D. in 2011 from the University of Utah's Department of Communication. Dr. Cummings also trains and coaches in developing emotional intelligence and is certified to administer the EQi 2.0 assessment.
JENNIFER CUMMINGS Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in the Management Department David Eccles School of Business University of Utah
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