Materi Suplemen Core 3 Dubrin

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
CHAPTER OUTLINE
After studying this chapter and doing

the exercises, you should be able to
Inspirational and Powerful Communication
Explain why good communication

skills contribute to effective
leadership.
Describe the basics of inspirational
and emotion-provoking
communication.
Describe key features of a
power-oriented linguistic style.
Describe the six basic principles of

persuasion.
Describe the challenge of selective

listening, and the basics of making
the rounds.
Be sensitive to the importance of

overcoming cross-cultural barriers
to communication.
Identify basic approaches to

resolving conict and negotiating.
Speaking and Writing

The Six Basic Principles of Persuasion
Nonverbal Communication Including Videoconferencing
12
C HAP T E R
Communication and
Conict Resolution Skills
Listening as a Leadership Skill

Selective Listening to Problems
Making the Rounds
Overcoming Cross-Cultural Communication

Barriers
The Leaders Role in Resolving Conict
and Negotiating
Conict Management Styles
Resolving Conict Between Two Group Members
Negotiating and Bargaining
Summary
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Communication and Conict Resolution Skills
ve heard so many executives tell employ-
What would you do differently if you were
ees to be candid and then jump down
running the company? Whats the biggest thing
their throats if they bring up a problem or
getting in the way of you doing your job well?
dent and CEO of FatWire, a software company
FatWire should beef up its staff in marketing
that helps businesses manage their web sites.
and in product development. Others have coun-
ask a critical question, says Yogesh Gupta, presi-
Gupta was determined not to do that when
Already he has learned from these talks that
seled him to improve FatWires customer-support
he was recruited to FatWire from CA (Com-
processes. Every time Gupta has gotten good
puter Associates). Since then he has spent hours
advice privately, he has found a way to publicly
talking with his 200 employees and seeking the
praise the manager so others will come forward
advice of his nine senior managersall but one
with suggestions.
of whom are veterans of the company. He has
I know I have to say, You did the right thing to
frequent private meetings with each member of
speak up again and again because employees fear
the management team so they will feel freer to
theyll get blamed if they say anything negative,
be candid with him. In that way, he can ask the
says Gupta.1
important questions: What am I doing wrong?
Knowledge Bank
Provides some evidence
supporting the conclusion
that many companies are
not communicating their
mission, vision, and values
as well as they might.
www.cengage.com/
management/dubrin
The executive leader just described acts on an obvious truth that many leaders
ignoreopen communication between company leaders and group members
helps an organization overcome problems and attain success. Effective managers and leaders listen to employees, and open communications contribute to
leadership effectiveness. Peter de la Billiere reminds us that no leader is effective
unless he or she is skillful at communication, which includes being able to transmit and receive messages.2 Along the same lines, John Hamm notes that effective
communication is a leaders most essential tool for executing the essential job of
leadership: inspiring organizational members to take responsibility for creating
a better future.3
Effective communication skills contribute to inspirational leadership. Chapter 3
describes how charismatic leaders are masterful oral communicators. This chapter
expands on this theme and also covers the contribution of nonverbal, written, and
supportive communication. In addition, it describes how the ability to overcome
cross-cultural communication barriers enhances leadership effectiveness. Finally,
because leaders spend a substantial amount of time resolving conicts, the chapter
also discusses conict resolution skills.
To focus your thinking on your communication effectiveness, complete Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-1.
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Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-1

A Self-Portrait of My Communication Effectiveness
Instructions: The following statements relate to various aspects of communication effectiveness.
Indicate whether each of the statements is mostly true or mostly false, even if the most accurate
answer would depend somewhat on the situation. Asking another person who is familiar with
your communication behavior to help you answer the questions may improve the accuracy of your
answers.
Mostly
True
Mostly
False
1. When I begin to speak in a group, most people stop talking, turn

toward me, and listen.
2. I receive compliments on the quality of my writing.
3. The reaction to the outgoing message on my voicemail has been

favorable.
4. I welcome the opportunity to speak in front of a group.
5. I have published something, including a letter to the editor, an article

for the school newspaper, or a comment in a company newsletter.
6. I have my own web site.
7. The vast majority of my written projects in school have received a

grade of B or A.
8. People generally laugh when I tell a joke or make what I think is a

witty comment.
9. I stay informed by reading newspapers, watching news on television,

or reading news web sites.
10. I have heard such terms as enthusiastic, animated, colorful, or dynamic

applied to me.
Total score: ________________

Scoring and Interpretation: If eight or more of these statements are true in relation to
you, it is most likely that you are an effective communicator. If three or fewer statements
are true, you may need substantial improvement in your communication skills. Your scores
are probably highly correlated with charisma.
Skill Development: The behaviors indicated by the ten statements in the self-assessment
exercise are signicant for leaders because much of a leaders impact is determined by
his or her communication style. Although effective leaders vary considerably in their
communication style, they usually create a positive impact if they can communicate well.
Observe some current business leaders on CNBC news or a similar channel to develop a feel
for the communication style of successful business leaders.
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INSPIRATIONAL AND POWERFUL COMMUNICATION

Information about communicating persuasively and effectively is extensive. Here
we focus on suggestions for creating the high-impact communication that contributes to effective leadership. Effective communication is frequently a criterion for
being promoted to a leadership position. In this section, suggestions for becoming an inspirational and emotion-provoking communicator are divided into the
following two categories: (1) speaking and writing, and (2) nonverbal communication. We also discuss six basic principles of persuasion.
Speaking and Writing

You are already familiar with the basics of effective spoken and written communication. Yet the basicssuch as writing and speaking clearly, maintaining eye contact, and not mumblingare only starting points. The majority of effective leaders
have an extra snap or panache in their communication style, both in day-by-day
conversations and when addressing a group. The same energy and excitement is
reected in both speaking and writing. Suggestions for dynamic and persuasive
oral and written communication are presented next and outlined in Table 12-1.
Be Credible Attempts at persuasion, including inspirational speaking and writing,
begin with the credibility of the message sender. If the speaker is perceived as
highly credible, the attempt at persuasive communication is more likely to be successful. The perception of credibility is inuenced by many factors, including those
covered in this entire section. Being trustworthy heavily inuences being perceived
as credible. A leader with a reputation for lying will have a difcult time convincing
people about the merits of a new initiative such as outsourcing. Being perceived as
intelligent and knowledgeable is another major factor contributing to credibility.
TABLE 12-1 Suggestions for Inspirational Speaking and Writing

A. A VARIETY OF INSPIRATIONAL TACTICS
1. Be credible.
2. Gear your message to the listener.
3. Sell group members on the benets of your suggestions.
4. Use heavy-impact and emotion-provoking words.
5. Use anecdotes to communicate meaning.
6. Back up conclusions with data (to a point).
7. Minimize language errors, junk words, and vocalized pauses.
8. Write crisp, clear memos, letters, and reports, including a front-loaded message.
9. Use business jargon in appropriate doses.
B. THE POWER-ORIENTED LINGUISTIC STYLE
Included here are a variety of factors such as downplaying uncertainty, emphasizing direct rather
than indirect talk, and choosing an effective communication frame.
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Gear Your Message to the Listener An axiom of persuasive communication is that
a speaker must adapt the message to the listeners interests and motivations. The
company CEO visiting a manufacturing plant will receive careful attentionand
build supportwhen he says that jobs will not be outsourced to another country.
The same CEO will receive the support of stockholders when he emphasizes how
cost reductions will boost earnings per share and enlarge dividends. The average
intelligence level of the group is a key contingency factor in designing a persuasive
message. People with high intelligence tend to be more inuenced by messages
based on strong, logical arguments. Bright people are also more likely to reject
messages based on awed logic.4
Sell Group Members on the Benets of Your Suggestions A leader is constrained
by the willingness of group members to take action on the leaders suggestions and
initiatives. As a consequence, the leader must explain to group members how they
can benet from what he or she proposes. For example, a plant manager attempting to sell employees on the benets of recycling supplies as much as possible
might say, If we can cut down enough on the cost of supplies, we might be able to
save one or two jobs.
Selling group members is quite often done more effectively when the persuader
takes the time to build consensus. Instead of inspiring the group in a ash, the
leader wins the people over gradually. One caution is that this deliberate method
of persuasion through consensus is poorly suited to crises and other urgent
situations.
Use Heavy-Impact and Emotion-Provoking Words Certain words used in the
proper context give power and force to your speech. Used comfortably, naturally,
and sincerely, these words will project the image of a self-condent person with
leadership ability or potential. Two examples of heavy-impact phrases are We
will be outsourcing those portions of our knowledge work that are not mission
critical, and We will be innovational in both product development and business
processes. However, too much of this type of language will make the leader appear
that he or she is imitating a Dilbert cartoon (a long-running cartoon satire about
managers and businesspeople).
Closely related to heavy-impact language is the use of emotion-provoking words.
An expert persuasive tactic is to sprinkle your speech with emotion-provoking
and therefore inspiringwords. Emotion-provoking words bring forth images
of exciting events. Examples of emotion-provoking and powerful words include
outclassing the competition, bonding with customers, surpassing previous
prots, capturing customer loyalty, and rebounding from a downturn. It also
helps to use words and phrases that connote power. Those now in vogue include
virtual organization, transparent organization, and knowledge management.
A large vocabulary assists using both heavy-impact and emotion-provoking
words. When you need to persuade somebody on the spot, it is difcult to search
for the right words in a dictionary or thesaurus. Also, you need to practice a word
a few times to use it comfortably for an important occasion.
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Use Anecdotes to Communicate Meaning Anecdotes are a powerful part of a

leaders kit of persuasive and inuence tactics, as already mentioned in this chapter and in Chapter 3 about charismatic leadership. A carefully chosen anecdote is
also useful in persuading group members about the importance of organizational
values. So long as the anecdote is not repeated too frequently, it can communicate
an important message.
Teresa Lever-Pollary is the CEO of Nighttime Pediatric Clinics Inc. in Midvale,
Utah. She noticed that as the company grew to four clinics and seventy employees,
it was losing touch with the values that helped make it such a successful provider
of after-hours pediatric care. Lever-Pollary collected more than eighty stories from
her employees and printed them in a book that she distributes to stakeholders.
One of her favorite anecdotes was a nurses recollection of the manner in which a
pediatrician lured an ant from inside a childs ear using a morsel of cake frosting.
The ant crawled out, and the doctor gently released it outdoors. The story precisely
illustrates Nighttimes focus on carefully and professionally caring for small living
organisms.5
You will be more persuasive if you support your

spoken and written presentations with solid data. One approach to obtaining
data is to collect them yourselffor example, by conducting an email survey of
your customers or group members. The sales manager of an ofce supply company wanted to begin a delivery service for his many small customers, such as
dental and real estate ofces. He sent email messages to a generous sampling of
these accounts and found they would be willing to pay a premium price if delivery were included. By using these data to support his argument, he convinced the
company owner to approve the plan. He thus exercised leadership in providing
a new service.
Published sources also provide convincing data for arguments. Supporting data
for hundreds of arguments can be found in the business pages of newspapers, in
business magazines and newspapers, and on the Internet. The Statistical Abstract
of the United States, published annually, is an inexpensive yet trusted reference for
thousands of arguments.
Relying too much on research has a potential disadvantage, though. Being too
dependent on data could suggest that you have little faith in your intuition. For
example, you might convey a weak impression if, when asked your opinion, you
respond, I cant answer until I collect some data. Leaders are generally decisive.
An important issue, then, is for the leader to nd the right balance between relying
on data and using intuition alone when communicating an important point.
Back Up Conclusions with Data
Minimize Language Errors, Junk Words, and Vocalized Pauses Using colorful,
powerful words enhances the perception that you are self-condent and have leadership qualities. Also, minimize the use of words and phrases that dilute the impact of your speech, such as like, y know, you know what I mean, he goes
(to mean he says), and uhhhhhhh. Such junk words and vocalized pauses convey the impression of low self-condence, especially in a professional setting, and
detract from a sharp communication image.
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An effective way to decrease the use of these extraneous words is to tape-record

or video-record your side of a phone conversation and then play it back. Many
people are not aware that they use extraneous words until they hear recordings of
their speech.
A good leader should be sure always to write and speak with grammatical precision to give the impression of being articulate and well informed, thereby enhancing his or her leadership stature. Here are two examples of common language
errors: Just between you and I is wrong; just between you and me is correct.
Him and I, or Her and I, are incorrect phrases despite how frequently they
creep into social and business language. He and I and She and I are correct.
Another very common error is using the plural pronoun they to refer to a singular
antecedent. For example, The systems analyst said that they cannot help us is incorrect. The systems analyst said she cannot help us is correct. Using they to refer to a
singular antecedent has become so common in the English language that many people
no longer make the distinction between singular and plural. Some of these errors are
subtle and are made so frequently that many people do not realize they are wrong, but
again, avoiding grammatical errors may enhance a persons leadership stature.6
When in doubt about a potential language error, consult a large dictionary. An
authoritative guide for the leader (and anyone else) who chooses to use English accurately is The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White.7
Use Business Jargon in Appropriate Doses Business and government executives
and professionals make frequent use of jargon. Often the jargon is used automatically without deliberate thought, and at other times jargon words and phrases
are chosen to help establish rapport with the receiver. A vastly overused phrase
these days is at the end of the day, with buckets ghting for second place. The
end of the day has come to replace in the nal analysis, and buckets replace
categories. Many businesspeople say at the end of the day twice in the same
paragraph. Here is a typical use of buckets as a category: Cingular (now AT&T)
boasted that its new rate plan in South Florida enables customers to dig into their
big bucket of night and weekend minutes earlier than before.8
Sprinkling business talk with jargon does indeed help establish rapport, and
adds to a persons popularity. But too much jargon makes a person seem stereotyped in thinking, and perhaps even unwilling to express an original thoughtand
therefore lacking power.
Write Crisp, Clear Memos, Letters, and Reports, Including a Front-Loaded
Message Business leaders characteristically write easy-to-read, well-organized
messages both in email and more formal reports. Writing, in addition to speaking,
is more persuasive when key ideas are placed at the beginning of a conversation,
email message, paragraph, or sentence.9 Front-loaded messages (those placed at
the beginning of a sentence) are particularly important for leaders because people
expect leaders to be forceful communicators. A front-loaded and powerful message
might be Cost reduction must be our immediate priority, which emphasizes that
cost reduction is the major subject. It is clearly much more to the point than, for
example, All of us must reduce costs immediately.
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One way to make sure messages are front-loaded is to use the active voice, making
sure the subject of the sentence is doing the acting, not being acted upon. Compare
the active (and front-loaded) message Loyal workers should not take vacations during a company crisis to the passive (non-front-loaded) message Vacations should
not be taken by loyal company workers during a crisis. Recognize, however, that
less emphasis is placed on the active voice today than several years ago.
Use a Power-Oriented Linguistic Style A major part of being persuasive involves
choosing the correct linguistic style, a persons characteristic speaking pattern.

According to Deborah Tannen, linguistic style involves such aspects as amount of
directness, pacing and pausing, word choice, and the use of such communication
devices as jokes, gures of speech, anecdotes, questions, and apologies.10
Linguistic style is complex because it includes the culturally learned signals by
which people communicate what they mean, along with how they interpret what
others say and how they evaluate others. The complexity of linguistic style makes it
difcult to offer specic prescriptions for using one that is power oriented. Many of
the elements of a power-oriented linguistic style are included in other suggestions
made in this section of the chapter. Nevertheless, here are several components of a
linguistic style that would give power and authority to the message sender in many
situations, as observed by Deborah Tannen and other language specialists:11
Speak loud enough to be heard by the majority of people with at least average
hearing ability. Speaking too softly projects an image of low self-condence.
Downplay uncertainty. If you are not condent of your opinion or prediction,
make a positive statement anyway, such as saying, I know this new system
will cure our inventory problems.
Use the pronoun I to receive more credit for your ideas. (Of course, this could
backre in a team-based organization.)
Minimize the number of questions you ask that imply that you lack information on a topic, such as, What do you mean by an IPO?
Minimize self-deprecation with phrases such as This will probably sound stupid,
but . . . Apologize infrequently, and particularly minimize saying, Im sorry.
Offer negative feedback directly, rather than softening the feedback by rst
giving praise and then moving to the areas of criticism.
Make your point quickly. You know you are taking too long to reach a conclusion when others look bored or nish your sentences for you.
Emphasize direct rather than indirect talk: say, I need your report by noon
tomorrow, rather than, Im wondering if your report will be available by
noon tomorrow.
Weed out wimpy words. Speak up without qualifying or giving other indices of
uncertainty. It is better to give dates for the completion of a project rather than
say Soon or It shouldnt be a problem. Instead, make a statement like I
will have my portion of the strategic plan shortly before Thanksgiving. I need
to collect input from my team and sift through the information.
Know exactly what you want. Your chances of selling an idea increase to the
extent that you have claried the idea in your own mind. The clearer and
Knowledge Bank
Contains information
about using a combination
of inuence tactics to
persuade others.
www.cengage.com/
management/dubrin
355
more committed you are at the outset of a session, the stronger you are as a
persuader and the more powerful your language becomes.
Speak at length, set the agenda for a conversation, make jokes, and laugh. Be
ready to offer solutions to problems, as well as to suggest a program or plan.
All of these points are more likely to create a sense of condence in listeners.
Strive to be bold in your statements. As a rule of thumb, be bold about ideas,
but tentative about people. If you say something like I have a plan that I think
will solve these problems, you are presenting an idea, not attacking a person.
Frame your comments in a way that increases your listeners receptivity. The
frame is built around the best context for responding to the needs of others. An
example would be to use the frame lets dig a little deeper when the other people
present know something is wrong but cannot pinpoint the problem. Your purpose
is to enlist the help of others in nding the underlying nature of the problem.
Despite these suggestions for having a power-oriented linguistic style, Tannen

cautions that there is no one best way to communicate. How you project your
power and authority is often dependent on the people involved, the organizational
culture, the relative rank of the speakers, and other situational factors. The poweroriented linguistic style should be interpreted as a general guideline.
The Six Basic Principles of Persuasion

Persuasion is a major form of inuence, so it has gained in importance in the modern organization because of the reason described in Chapter 8: Managers must
often inuence people for whom they have no formal responsibility. The trend
stems from leaner corporate hierarchies and the breaking down of division walls.
Managers must persuade peers in situations where lines of authority are unclear
or do not exist.12 One way to be persuasive is to capitalize on scientic evidence
about how to persuade people. Robert B. Cialdini has synthesized knowledge from
experimental and social psychology about methods for getting people to concede,
comply, or change. These principles can also be framed as inuence principles,
but with a focus on persuasion.13 The six principles described next have accompanying tactics that can be used to supplement the other approaches to persuasion
described in this chapter.
1. Liking: People like those who like them. As a leader, you have a better chance
of persuading and inuencing group members who like you. Emphasizing similarities between you and the other person and offering praise are the two most reliable techniques for getting another person to like you. The leader should therefore
emphasize similarities, such as common interests with group members. Praising
others is a powerful inuence technique and can be used effectively even when the
leader nds something relatively small to compliment. Genuine praise is the most
effective.
2. Reciprocity: People repay in kind. Managers can often inuence group members to behave in a particular way by displaying the behavior rst. The leader
might therefore serve as a model of trust, good ethics, or strong commitment to
company goals. In short, give what you want to receive.
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3. Social proof: People follow the lead of similar others. Persuasion can have
high impact when it comes from peers. If you as the leader want to inuence a
group to convert to a new procedure, such as virtually eliminating paper records
in the ofce, ask a believer to speak up in a meeting or send his or her statement of
support via email. (But do not send around paper documents.)
4. Consistency: People align with their clear commitments. People need to feel
committed to what you want them to do. After people take a stand or go on record
in favor of a position, they prefer to stay with that commitment. Suppose you are
the team leader and you want team members to become more active in the community as a way of creating a favorable image for the rm. If the team members
talk about their plans to get involved and also put their plans in writing, they are
more likely to follow through. If the people involved read their action plans to each
other, the commitment will be even stronger.
5. Authority: People defer to experts. As explained in our study of expert power
and credibility, people really do defer to experts. The action plan here is to make
constituents aware of your expertise to enhance the probability that your plan will
persuade them. A leader might mention certication in the technical area that is
the subject of inuence. For example, a leader attempting to persuade team members to use statistical data to improve quality might mention that he or she is certied in the quality process Six Sigma (is a Six Sigma Black Belt).
6. Scarcity: People want more of what they can have less of. An application of
this principle is that the leader can persuade group members to act in a particular
direction if the members believe that the resource at issue is shrinking rapidly.
They might be inuenced to enroll in a course in outsourcing knowledge work, for
example, if they are told that the course may not be offered again for a long time.
Another way to apply this principle is to persuade group members by using information not readily available to others. The leader might say, I have some preliminary sales data. If we can increase our sales by just 10 percent in the last month of
this quarter, we might be the highest performing unit in the company.
The developer of these principles explains that they should be applied in combination to multiply their impact. For example, while establishing your expertise you
might simultaneously praise people for their accomplishments. It is also important
to be ethical, such as by not fabricating data to inuence others.14
Nonverbal Communication Including Videoconferencing

Effective leaders are masterful nonverbal as well as verbal communicators. Nonverbal communication is important because leadership involves emotion, which
words alone cannot communicate convincingly. A major component of the emotional impact of a message is communicated nonverbally.
A self-condent leader not only speaks and writes with assurance but also projects condence through body position, gestures, and manner of speech. Not everybody interprets the same body language and other nonverbal signals in the same
way, but some aspects of nonverbal behavior project a self-condent, leadership
image in many situations.15
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Using an erect posture when walking, standing, or sitting. Slouching and

slumping are almost universally interpreted as an indicator of low self-condence.
Standing up straight during a confrontation. Cowering is interpreted as a sign
of low self-condence and poor leadership qualities.
Patting other people on the back while nodding slightly.
Standing with toes pointing outward rather than inward. Outward-pointing
toes are usually perceived as indicators of superior status, whereas inwardpointing toes are perceived to indicate inferiority.
Speaking at a moderate pace, with a loud, condent tone. People lacking in
self-condence tend to speak too rapidly or very slowly.
Smiling frequently in a relaxed, natural-appearing manner.
Maintaining eye contact with those around you.
Gesturing in a relaxed, nonmechanical way, including pointing toward
others in a way that welcomes rather than accuses, such as using a gesture to
indicate, Youre right, or Its your turn to comment.
A general approach to using nonverbal behavior that projects condence is to

have a goal of appearing self-condent and powerful. This type of autosuggestion
makes many of the behaviors seem automatic. For example, if you say, I am going
to display leadership qualities in this meeting, you will have taken an important
step toward appearing condent.
Your external image also plays an important role in communicating messages to
others. People pay more respect and grant more privileges to those they perceive
as being well dressed and neatly groomed. Even on casual dress days, most effective leaders will choose clothing that gives them an edge over others. Appearance
includes more than the choice of clothing. Self-condence is projected by such
small items as the following:
Neatly pressed and sparkling clean clothing

Freshly polished shoes
Impeccable ngernails
Clean jewelry in mint condition
Well-maintained hair
Good-looking teeth with a white or antique-white color
What constitutes a powerful and self-condent external image is often inuenced

by the organizational culture. At a software development company, for example,
powerful people might dress more casually than at an investment banking rm.
Leadership at many law rms is moving back toward formal business attire for
the professional staff. Your verbal behavior and the forms of nonverbal behavior
previously discussed contribute more to your leadership image than your clothing,
providing you dress acceptably.
A subtle mode of nonverbal communication is the use of time. Guarding time
as a precious resource will help you project an image of self-condence and leadership. A statement such as I can devote fteen minutes to your problem this
Thursday at 4:00 P.M. connotes condence and being in control. (Too many of
these statements, however, might make a person appear unapproachable and inconsiderate.) Other ways of projecting power through the use of time include such
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behaviors as being prompt for meetings and starting and stopping meetings on
time. It may also be helpful to make references to dates one year into the future
and beyond, such as, By 2013 we should have a 25 percent market share.
Videoconferencing places extra demands on the nonverbal communication skills
of leaders, managers, and other participants. Jeffrey Schwartz, chief executive ofcer of an industrial real estate investment trust, explains that videoconferences
represent a powerful tool for far-ung managers to make a name for themselves
back at corporate headquarters.16 The opposite is also true: if your verbal and nonverbal communication skills are poor, you will create a poor impression. The camera magnies everything such as scratching your head, biting your lip, inserting
your nger in your ear, and checking your BlackBerry. Etiquette tips for making a
strong nonverbal presence during a videoconference include the following (and are
similar to nonverbal communication suggestions in general):
Choose what you wear carefully, remembering that busy (confusing and
complex) patterns look poor on video. Also do not wear formal attire mixed
with running shoes because you might move into full camera view.
Speak in crisp conversational tones and pay attention. (The tone and paying
attention are the nonverbal aspects of communication.)
Never forget the video cameras powerful reach such as catching you rolling
your eyes when you disagree with a subordinate.
Avoid culturally insensitive gestures including large hand and body gestures
that make many Asians feel uncomfortable. Asians believe that you should
have long-term relationships before being demonstrative.17
An effective way of sharpening your videoconferencing nonverbal skills, as well

as other nonverbal skills, is to be videotaped several times. Make adjustments for
anything you dont like, and repeat what you do like. Feedback on your behavior
from another observer can be quite helpful.
Now that you have refreshed your thoughts on effective verbal and nonverbal
communication, do Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-1.
LISTENING AS A LEADERSHIP SKILL

Listening is a fundamental management and leadership skill. Listening also provides the opportunity for dialogue, in which people understand each other better
by taking turns having their point of view understood. For a leader to support and
encourage a subordinate, active listening (as described in the discussion of coaching) is required. Also, effective leadermember exchanges require that each party
listen to one another. The relationship between two parties cannot be enhanced
unless each one listens to the other. Furthermore, leaders cannot identify problems
unless they listen carefully to group members. According to Richard M. Harris,
in todays complex, fast-paced organization, effective communicationincluding
listeningis essential. But all too frequently, messages are misinterpreted, ignored,
or missed altogether. As a result, creativity is stied, morale is lowered, and goals
may go unmet.18
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Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-1

Feedback on Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior
Ten volunteers have one week to prepare a threeminute presentation on a course-related subject of
their choice. The topics of these presentations could
be as far-reaching as The Importance of the North
American Free Trade Agreement or My Goals
and Dreams. The class members who observe the
presentations prepare feedback slips on 3 5 cards,
describing how well the speakers communicated
powerfully and inspirationally. One card per speaker
is usually sufcient. Notations should be made for
both verbal and nonverbal feedback.
Emphasis should be placed on positive feedback

and constructive suggestions. Students pass the
feedback cards along to the speakers. The cards can
be anonymous to encourage frankness, but they
should not be mean spirited.
Persuading and inspiring others is one of the
main vehicles for practicing leadership. Knowing
how others perceive you helps you polish and rene
your impact.
Two major impediments face the leader who wants to be an effective listener.
First, the leader is so often overloaded with responsibilities, including analytical
work, that it is difcult to take the time to carefully listen to subordinates. Second
is the speed difference between speaking and listening. The average rate of speaking is between 110 and 200 words per minute, yet people can listen in the range of
400 to 3,000 words per minute. So the leader, as well as anybody else, will often let
his or her mind wander.
Here we look at two leadership aspects of listening to supplement your general
knowledge of listening, acquired most likely in other courses: selective listening to
problems, and making the rounds.
Selective Listening to Problems

Organizational leaders are so often bombarded with demands and information
that it is difcult to be attentive to a full range of problems. So the leader makes
an intentional or unintentional decision to listen to just certain problems. Erika H.
James notes that despite how our brains ordinarily work, success is dependent on
staying open to all incoming information.19 The busy leader must avoid listening to
limited categories of information such as good news, bad news, or nancial news.
A CEO with a propensity to listen only to nancial results might ignore any word
of problems so long as the company is earning a prot. For example, the CEO of
an energy company was so happy with nancial results that he ignored pleas from
the director of human resources about problems brewing. The problems related
to discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits that would be forthcoming if
certain behaviors of some line managers were not stopped immediately. Without
intervention by top-level leadership, the problems continued, and the company
eventually faced expensive and embarrassing lawsuits.
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CHAPTER 12
Making the Rounds

A robust communication channel for the leader/manager is to engage in face-toface communication with direct reports and others, with an emphasis on listening.
Making the rounds refers to the leader casually dropping by constituents to listen to their accomplishments, concerns, and problems and to share information.
Rounding is a well-established concept from health care in which the physician
talks to patients and other health care workers to observe problems and progress
rsthand.20 Through rounding, vital information is gathered if the physician or
manager listens carefully. Making the rounds is also referred to as management by
walking around, yet rounding seems more focused and systematic.
From the perspective of listening, the leader stays alert to potential problems.
Assume that a subordinate is asked, How are things going? and she replies, Not
too terrible. This response begs a little digging, such as, What is happening that
is a little terrible?
Table 12-2 offers you a few suggestions for doing an effective job of dropping
by to exchange information with employees. Leadership Skill-Building Exercise
12-2 gives you an opportunity to try out the fundamental leadership skill of
communication.
The accompanying Leader in Action prole illustrates a leader who makes
communicatingboth sending and receiving messagesan important part of his job.
TABLE 12-2 How to Succeed in Management by Making the Rounds

Heres a checklist of walk-around tips a manager can start using today, as provided by communications consultant Linda Duyle:
Get out of the office. Dedicate some time each week to get out and talk with your work force.
Leave behind your cell phone and BlackBerry. Minimize distractions that can tug on your attention and block effective listening. You want to demonstrate courtesy and respect during your
time on the oor.
Start slowly. Dont feel the need to dive right into your discussion even if you have prepared an
agenda. Effective listening requires you to focus on the person with whom you are speaking.
Clear your mind of distractions.
Make eye contact. Look directly at the people with whom you are speaking.
Make it two-way communication. When youre asked a question that you cant answer, tell the
employee that you dont have the answer but will get back to him or her.
Be honest. If times are tough, dont sugarcoat reality. For example, if the company lost a big
contract, bring it up in your casual conversation.
Process information. You may want to bring a small notepad with you to write down questions or
comments that youd like to remember or that require follow-up. You will learn some great new
things about your people and operations.
Show appreciation. Thank the person for his or her time and comments.
Never quit. People may not be comfortable during the early months of the walk-around process.
But as they see you more frequently and your willingness to be visible, comfort in the process
will improve.
Source: Adapted and abridged from Linda Dulye, Get Out of Your Ofce, HR Magazine, July 2006, pp. 100101. Copyright
2006 by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Reproduced with permission of SHRM in the format Textbook via
Copyright Clearance Center.
361

Leadership Listening
Six or seven students gather for a team meeting to
discuss an important operational problem, such as
nding new ways to reduce the cycle time required
to complete their tasks, or deciding how to convince
top management to expand the team budget. One
person plays the role of the team leader. All of the
group members take turns at making both useful
and apparently not-useful suggestions. The team
leader, along with team members, displays careful

listening whenever ideas surface. Students not
directly involved in the group role play will take
note of the listening skills they observe so that they
can provide feedback later. Be particularly observant
of selective listening. If class time allows, another
team of six or seven students can repeat the group
role play.
Leader in Action
Automotive Systems Leader Engages
in Two-Way Communication
Carlos Mazzorin is one business leader who understands the importance of two-way communication
and staying accessible to his employees. As chairman and CEO of automotive systems manufacturer
Magna Donnelly, he makes time to hold regular town
hall meetings at the companys various plants and
factories. And each time he visits a sitewhich is
oftenhe spends at least an hour out on the oor,
talking off the cuff with employees.
And thats not all he does. He has also created two
communication vehicles that employees love.
Unlike some CEOs, Mazzorin doesnt duck

the tough questions. He handles inquires about
possible mergers, bad news, and anything else
that comes in from employees and the grapevine.
And its no surprise that employee focus groups
reveal that Mazzorin gets very high marks for
credibility, believability, and communication
skills.
Carlos Chatline. In this monthly publication,

Mazzorin brings employees up to speed on whats
happening with Magna Donnelly operations around
the world, explains recent product innovations, and
keeps employees up to date on any important news
facing the companyinternally and externally.
1. In what way does Mazzorin engage in two-way

communication?
2. Why might the focus groups conclude that
Mazzorin has good communication skills?
3. What evidence is implied that Mazzorin
emphasizes listening?
Comments to Carlos. This is a chance for any

employee to ask Mazzorin a question. Ofce
workers can email the questions directly to him;
plant and factory workers can submit them
through a submission box (the communications
department forwards the contents to Mazzorin).
Questions
Source: Communication Works Only If Youre Willing

to Listen at Least as Much as You Talk . . . or Write,
Communications Solutions (Ragans Management Resources,
11 East Wacker Drive, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60601, www.
managementresources.com, Sample Issue, distributed 2008).
Reprinted courtesy of Ragan Communications.
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CHAPTER 12
OVERCOMING CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
Knowledge Bank
Describes a few mental
processes that contribute
to communication
barriers with people of
other cultures.
www.cengage.com/
management/dubrin
Another communication challenge facing leaders and managers is overcoming

communication barriers created by dealing with people from different cultures
and subcultures. In todays workplace, leaders communicate with people from
other countries and with a more diverse group of people in their own country.
Because of this workplace diversity, leaders who can manage a multicultural and
cross-cultural work force are in strong demand. Here we give some guidelines for
overcoming some cross-cultural communication barriers. Implementing these
guidelines will help overcome and prevent many communication problems. A useful starting point here is to take Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-2 to help you
think through your cross-cultural skills and attitudes.

Cross-Cultural Skills and Attitudes
Instructions: Listed here are various skills and attitudes that various employers and cross-cultural
experts think are important for relating effectively to coworkers in a culturally diverse environment.
Indicate whether or not each statement applies to you.
Applies to
Me Now
Not There
Yet
1. I have spent some time in another country.
2. At least one of my friends is deaf, blind, or uses a wheelchair.
3. Currency from other countries is as real as the currency from

my own country.
4. I can read in a language other than my own.
5. I can speak in a language other than my own.
6. I can write in a language other than my own.
7. I can understand people speaking in a language other than my own.
8. I use my second language regularly.
9. My friends include people of races different from my own.
10. My friends include people of different ages.
11. I feel (or would feel) comfortable having a friend with a sexual
orientation different from mine.
12. My attitude is that although another culture may be very

different from mine, that culture is equally good.
13. I would be willing to (or already do) hang art from different
countries in my home.
14. I would accept (or have already accepted) a work assignment

of more than several months in another country.
15. I have a passport.
Overcoming Cross-Cultural Communication Barriers
363
Quiz 12-2 (continued)

Scoring and Interpretation: If you answered Applies to Me Now to 10 or more questions,
you most likely function well in a multicultural work environment. If you answered Not
There Yet to 10 or more questions, you need to develop more cross-cultural awareness and
skills to work effectively in a multicultural work environment. You will notice that being
bilingual gives you at least 5 points on this quiz.
Source: Several ideas for statements on this quiz are derived from Ruthann Dirks and Janet Buzzard,
What CEOs Expect of Employees Hired for International Work, Business Education Forum, April 1997,
pp. 37; Gunnar Beeth, Multicultural Managers Wanted, Management Review, May 1997, pp. 1721.
1. Be sensitive to the fact that cross-cultural communication barriers exist. Awareness of these potential barriers is the rst step in dealing with them. When dealing
with a person of a different cultural background, solicit feedback to minimize crosscultural barriers to communication. For example, investigate which types of praise or
other rewards might be ineffective for a particular cultural group. In many instances,
Asians newly arrived in the United States feel uncomfortable being praised in front of
others, because in Asian cultures group performance is valued more than individual
performance.
Being alert to cultural differences in values, attitudes, and etiquette will help
you communicate more effectively with people from different cultures. Observe
carefully the cultural mistakes listed in Table 12-3. At the same time, recognize
that these mistakes are based on cultural stereotypes and reect typical or average
behavior of members of a particular cultural group.
2. Challenge your cultural assumptions. The assumptions we make about cultural groups can create communication barriers. The assumption you make about
another group may not necessarily be incorrect, but stopping to challenge the assumptions may facilitate communication. An American leader, for example, might
assume that the norms of independence and autonomy are valued by all groups
in the workplace. Trudy Milburn notes that even the concept of equality can be
phrased to alienate cultural groups. A sentence from the Johnson & Johnson mission statement reads, Everyone must be considered as an individual. However,
the word individual does not have positive connotations for all groups. Among
many Latino cultural groups, the term individual is derogatory because it may connote the separation of one person from the rest of the community.21
3. Show respect for all workers. The same behavior that promotes good crosscultural relations in general helps overcome communication barriers. A widely
used comment that implies disrespect is to say to a person from another culture,
You have a funny accent. Should you be transposed to that persons culture, you
too might have a funny accent. The attitude of highest respect is to communicate
your belief that although another persons culture is different from yours, it is not
inferior to your culture. Showing respect for another culture can be more important than being bilingual in overcoming communication barriers.22
TABLE 12-3 Cultural Mistakes to Avoid with Selected Cultural Groups

EUROPE
Great Britain
Asking personal questions. The British protect their privacy.

Thinking that a businessperson from England is unenthusiastic when he or
she says, Not bad at all. English people understate positive emotion.
Gossiping about royalty.
France
Expecting to complete work during the French two-hour lunch.

Attempting to conduct signicant business during Augustles vacances
(vacation time).
Greeting a French person for the rst time and not using a title such as sir or
madam (or monsieur, madame, or mademoiselle).

Italy
Eating too much pasta, as it is not the main course.

Handing out business cards freely. Italians use them infrequently.
Spain
Expecting punctuality. Your appointments will usually arrive twenty to thirty
minutes late.
Making the American sign for okay with your thumb and forenger. In Spain
(and many other countries) this is vulgar.

Scandinavia,
Denmark,
Sweden,
Norway
Being overly rank-conscious in these countries. Scandinavians pay relatively
little attention to a persons place in the hierarchy.
ASIA
All Asian
Countries
Pressuring an Asian job applicant or employee to brag about his or her
Japan
Shaking hands or hugging Japanese (as well as other Asians) in public.
accomplishments. Asians feel self-conscious when boasting about individual

accomplishments and prefer to let the record speak for itself. In addition,
they prefer to talk about group rather than individual accomplishment.
Japanese consider the practices offensive.
Not interpreting Well consider it as a no when spoken by a Japanese busi-
nessperson. Japanese negotiators mean no when they say, Well consider it.
Not giving small gifts to Japanese when conducting business. Japanese are
offended by not receiving these gifts.

Giving your business card to a Japanese businessperson more than once.
Japanese prefer to give and receive business cards only once.

China
Using black borders on stationery and business cards. Black is associated
with death.
Giving small gifts to Chinese when conducting business. Chinese are
offended by these gifts.

Making cold calls on Chinese business executives. An appropriate
introduction is required for a rst-time meeting with a Chinese ofcial.

Korea
Saying no. Koreans feel it is important to have visitors leave with good feelings.
India
Telling Indians you prefer not to eat with your hands. If the Indians are not
using cutlery when eating, they expect you to do likewise.

MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA
Mexico
Flying into a Mexican city in the morning and expecting to close a deal by
lunch. Mexicans build business relationships slowly.

Brazil
Attempting to impress Brazilians by speaking a few words of Spanish.
Portuguese is the ofcial language of Brazil.

Most Latin
American
Countries
Wearing elegant and expensive jewelry during a business meeting. Most Latin
Americans think American people should appear more conservative during a

business meeting.
Note: A cultural mistake for Americans to avoid when conducting business in most countries
outside the United States and Canada is to insist on getting down to business too quickly. North
Americans in small towns also like to build a relationship before getting down to business.
Overcoming Cross-Cultural Communication Barriers
365
4. Use straightforward language, and speak slowly and clearly. When working with people who do not speak your language uently, speak in an easy-tounderstand manner. Minimize the use of idioms and analogies specic to your language. A systems analyst from New Delhi, India, left confused after a performance
review with her manager. The manager said, I will be giving you more important
assignments because I notice some good chemistry between us. The woman did
not understand that good chemistry means rapport, and she did not ask for clarication because she did not want to appear uninformed.
Speaking slowly is also important because even people who read and write a
second language at an expert level may have difculty catching some nuances of
conversation. Facing the person from another culture directly also improves communication because your facial expressions and lips contribute to comprehension.
And remember, there is no need to speak much louder.
5. Look for signs of misunderstanding when your language is not the listeners
native language. Signs of misunderstanding may include nods and smiles not directly connected to what you are saying, a lack of questions, inappropriate laughter, and a blank expression. If these signs are present, work harder to apply the
suggestions in point 4.23
6. When the situation is appropriate, speak in the language of the people from
another culture. Americans who can speak another language are at a competitive advantage when dealing with businesspeople who speak that language. The
language skill, however, must be more advanced than speaking a few basic words
and phrases. Speaking the local language will often bring a person more insight
and prevent misunderstandings. Equally important, being bilingual helps bring a
person the respect that a leader needs to be fully credible.24
As more deaf people have been integrated into the work force, knowing American Sign Language can be a real advantage to a leader when some of his or her
constituents are deaf.
7. Observe cross-cultural differences in etiquette. Violating rules of etiquette without explanation can erect immediate communication barriers. A major rule of business etiquette in most countries is that the participants conducting serious business
together should rst share a meal. So if you are invited to a banquet that takes place
the night before discussions about a major business deal, regard the banquet as a
major opportunity to build a relationship. To avoid the banquet is a serious faux pas.
8. Do not be diverted by style, accent, grammar, or personal appearance.
Although these supercial factors are all related to business success, they are
difcult to interpret when judging a person from another culture. It is therefore better to judge the merits of the statement or behavior. A highly intelligent
worker from another culture may still be learning English and thus make basic
mistakes. He or she might also not yet have developed a sensitivity to dress style
in your culture.
9. Avoid racial or ethnic identication except when it is essential to
communication. Using a persons race or ethnicity as an adjective or other descriptor often suggests a negative stereotype.25 For example, suppose a leader says,
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CHAPTER 12
I am proud of Andr. He is a very responsible (member of his race) customer

service rep. One possible interpretation of this statement is that most customer
service reps of Andrs race are not so responsible. Or, a leader might say, We are
happy to have Martha on our team. She is an easy-to-get-along-with (mention of
ethnicity) lady. A possible implication is that women from Marthas particular
country are usually not too easy to work with.
10. Be sensitive to differences in nonverbal communication. A person from
another culture may misinterpret nonverbal signals. To use positive reinforcement,
some managers will give a sideways hug to an employee or will touch the employees
arm. People from some cultures resent touching from workmates and will be offended.
Koreans in particular dislike being touched or touching others in a work setting.
11. Be attentive to individual differences in appearance. A major cross-cultural
insult is to confuse the identity of people because they are members of the same
race or ethnic group. An older economics professor reared in China and teaching
in the United States had difculty communicating with students because he was
unable to learn their names. The professors defense was that so many of these
Americans look alike to me. A study suggests that people have difculty seeing individual differences among people of another race because they see so-called racial
differences rst; they might think, He has the nose of a Chinese person. However,
people can learn to search for more distinguishing features, such as a dimple or
eye color, and expression (serious or not so serious).26
THE LEADERS ROLE IN RESOLVING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATING

Leaders and managers spend considerable time resolving conicts and negotiating. A frequent estimate is that they devote about 20 percent of their time to dealing with conict. Conict arises frequently among top executives, and it can have
enormous consequences for the organization. If this conict is ignored, the result
can be an enterprise that competes more passionately with itself that with the
competition.27 An example of such competition would be two business units competing for resources. Departmental competition has been regarded as the ugly
underbelly of all sizes of companies, often resulting in product delays, increased
costs, and dwindling market shares as departments ght each other for domination behind the scenes. Frequent conict is found also between off-line and online
units.28 Until conict between or among the groups is resolved, collaboration is
unlikely.29 For example, if the operations group is in conict with the human resources group, it will be difcult for the two groups to collaborate on a diversity
training program.
An extensive description of conict resolution is more appropriate for the study
of managerial skills than for the study of leadership skills. The reason is because
conict resolution has more to do with establishing equilibrium than with helping
the rm or organizational unit reach new heights. Here we focus on a basic framework for understanding conict resolution styles, resolving conict between two
group members, and a few suggestions for negotiating and bargaining.
367
Collaborative
(Integration)
Competitive
(Domination)
Sharing
(Compromise)
Unassertive
PARTYS DESIRE TO SATISFY

OWN CONCERN
Assertive
The Leaders Role in Resolving Conict and Negotiating
Avoidant
(Neglect)
Accommodative
(Appeasement)
Uncooperative
Cooperative
PARTYS DESIRE TO SATISFY

OTHERS CONCERN
FIGURE 12-1 Conict-Handling Styles According to the Degree of Cooperation and

Assertiveness.
Source: Kenneth W. Thomas, Organizational Conict, in Marvin D. Dunnette, ed., Handbook of Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, p. 900 (Rand McNally). Copyright 1976, Marvin D. Dunnette. Used by permission of Marvin D. Dunnette.
Conict Management Styles

As shown in Figure 12-1, Kenneth W. Thomas has identied ve major styles of conict management: competitive, accommodative, sharing, collaborative, and avoidant.
Each style is based on a combination of satisfying ones own concerns (assertiveness)
and satisfying the concerns of others (cooperativeness).30 Leadership Self-Assessment
Quiz 12-3 gives you an opportunity to think about your conict management style.
Competitive Style The competitive style is a desire to achieve ones own goals at
the expense of the other party, or to dominate. A person with a competitive orientation is likely to engage in winlose power struggles.
Accommodative Style The accommodative style favors appeasement, or satisfying
the others concerns without taking care of ones own. People with this orientation
may be generous or self-sacricing just to maintain a relationship. An irate customer
might be accommodated with a full refund, just to shut him (or her) up. The intent of such accommodation might also be to retain the customers loyalty.
Sharing Style The sharing style is halfway between domination and appeasement.
Sharers prefer moderate but incomplete satisfaction for both parties, which results
in a compromise. The term splitting the difference reects this orientation, which is
commonly used in such activities as purchasing a house or car.
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CHAPTER 12

My Conict Resolution Style
Instructions: Answer each of the following statements mostly true or mostly false with respect
to how you have dealt with the situation, would deal with the situation, or how much you agree with
the attitude expressed.
Mostly
True
Mostly
False
1. I see myself as a smash-mouth negotiator.
2. The best way to resolve conict is to overwhelm the other side.
3. When negotiating a price, I like to make sure that the other side
walks away with at least some prot.
4. When negotiating a price, I like to start with an outrageous demand

or offer so I can eventually get the price I really wanted.
5. After a successful negotiation, one side wins and one side loses.
6. After a successful negotiation, both sides walk away with something

of value.
7. When I am in conict with somebody else, I try to listen carefully

to understand his or her point of view.
8. Face it: business is war, so why grant concessions when in a dispute?
9. When working out a disagreement with a workmate, I keep in mind

the fact that we will have to work together in the future.
10. Nice people nish last when it comes to resolving disputes.
Total score: ________________

Scoring and Interpretation: Give yourself a score of 1 for each answer that matches the scoring key:
1. Mostly false
2. Mostly false
3. Mostly true
4. Mostly false
5. Mostly false
6. Mostly true
7. Mostly true
8. Mostly false
9. Mostly true
10. Mostly false
If your score is 8, 9, or 10, you most likely use the collaborative (winwin) approach
to resolving conict and negotiating. If your score is 7 or less, you most likely use
the competitive (winlose) approach to resolving conict and negotiating. The collaborative approach is more likely to enhance your leadership effectiveness in the long run.
In contrast to the other styles, the collaborative style reects

a desire to fully satisfy the desires of both parties. It is based on the underlying
philosophy of the winwin approach to conict resolution, the belief that after
conict has been resolved, both sides should gain something of value. The user of
winwin approaches is genuinely concerned about arriving at a settlement that
meets the needs of both parties, or at least does not badly damage the welfare of
Collaborative Style
369
the other side. When collaborative approaches to resolving conict are used, the
relationships among the parties are built on and improved.
The collaborative style of conict management has many variations, one of
which is to agree with the person criticizing you. When you agree with a critic,
you show that you seek a solution, not a way to demonstrate that you are right. If
you agree with the substance of the criticism, you show that you are aware of the
situation and ready to do what is best to solve the problem.31
To illustrate, if a group member criticizes you for having been too harsh in your
evaluation of him or her, you might say: I agree that my evaluation was harsh, but
I was harsh for a purpose. I want to be candid with you so you will be motivated to
make what I think are necessary improvements. Your agreement is likely to spark
further discussion about how the group member can improve. The collaborative
style is the approach an effective leader is most likely to use because the outcome
leads to increased productivity and satisfaction.
Another form of agreeing with criticism is for the leader to apologize when he or
she has truly made a mistake. An apology often reduces conict because the other
side becomes less hostile, and the scene is set for cooperation. Visualize a scenario in
which members of the executive team vote themselves large nancial bonuses during
a period of nancial losses to the company and layoffs of employees. Saying, Were
sorry, and we goofed to the union and/or employees can help soften the sting. Giving back some of the bonuses would be even more helpful. In general, a good apology must be perceived as genuine, with an honest appeal for forgiveness.32
Avoidant Style The avoider combines lack of cooperation and unassertiveness.
He or she is indifferent to the concerns of either party. The person may actually be
withdrawing from the conict or be relying upon fate. An example of an avoider is
a manager who stays out of a conict between two team members, leaving them to
resolve their own differences.
People engaged in conict resolution typically combine several of the ve resolution styles to accomplish their purpose. For example, a generally effective approach
to resolving conict is to be competitive with regard to a cost that is important to
oneself but unimportant to the opponent, and at the same time use accommodation for a cost that is unimportant to oneself but important to the opponent.33
Which mode or modes of conict handling to use depends upon a number of
variables, as presented in detail in Table 12-4. The major contingency factors are
the importance of the conict issue and the relative power of the opposing parties.
An issue may be so important to a leader, such as preventing his or her organizational unit from being outsourced, that domination may be the most effective
mode. At other times a leader may use the accommodating mode of conict management when the opposing side has much more power, and he or she may want
to save domination for a more important issue in the future.
Resolving Conict Between Two Group Members

A high-level managerial skill is to help two or more group members resolve
conict between or among them. Much of the time a manager or leader invests in
conict resolution is geared toward assisting others to resolve their conict. Often
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CHAPTER 12
Text not available due to copyright restrictions
the conict is between the heads of two different departments or divisions. The
most useful approach is to get the parties in conict to engage in confrontation and
problem solving. (Confrontation refers to discussing the true problem, and problem solving refers to nding a way to resolve the conict.) The manager sits down
with the two sides and encourages them to talk to each other about the problem,
not talk directly to him or her. This approach is preferable to inviting each side to
speak with the manager or leader alone, because then each side might attempt to
convince the manager that he or she is right. An abbreviated example follows:
371
Leader: Ive brought you two together to see if you can overcome the problems
you have about sharing the workload during a period in which one of you is
overloaded.
Stephanie: Im glad you did. Josh never wants to help me, even when Im drowning in customer requests.
Josh: I would be glad to help Stephanie if she ever agreed to help me. If she has
any downtime, she runs to the break room so she can chat on her cell phone.
Stephanie: Look whos talking. I have seen you napping in your SUV when you
have a little downtime.
Leader: Im beginning to see whats going on here. Both of you are antagonistic
toward each other, and you look for little faults to pick. With a little more respect
on both sides, I think you would be more willing to help each other out.
Josh: Actually, Stephanies not too bad. And I know she can perform well when
she wants to. Next time I see her needing help, Ill pitch in.
Stephanie: I know that the name Josh is related to joking around, but our Josh
really has a warm heart. Im open to starting with a fresh slate. Maybe Josh can
ask me politely the next time he needs help.
Conict specialist Patrick S. Nugent believes that being able to intervene in the
conicts of group members is a management skill that grows in importance. Such
competencies are useful in an emerging form of management based less on traditional hierarchy and more on developing self-managing subordinates and teams.
When the conict is between two different groups, such as online versus off-line
marketing, a major goal of conict resolution is to get the two sides to see the
companys big picture.34
Negotiating and Bargaining

As mentioned in Chapter 1, negotiation is a basic leadership role. In support of
this idea, Michael Watkins says it is not enough for leaders to be visionaries; they
also need to be capable negotiators. One reason is that younger people are less
prone to accept power and authority. Another reason is that the trend toward atter organizations and the use of matrix structures require leaders to be negotiating
continuously. (A matrix structure is a project team superimposed on a functional
structure.) People often accept orders only after negotiation.35
Conicts can be considered situations that call for negotiating and bargaining,
or conferring with another person to resolve a problem. When you are trying to
negotiate a fair salary for yourself, you are simultaneously trying to resolve a conict. At rst the demands of the two parties may seem incompatible, but through
negotiation a salary may emerge that satises both parties. Here we review a handful of practical negotiating tactics a leader will nd helpful. The approaches to
negotiation presented here emphasize a strategy of integration or collaboration,
with a philosophy of winwin.
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Listen First to Investigate What the Other Side Wants Listening skills are part
of leadership effectiveness in negotiation also. Bobby Covie says, Theres a saying among negotiators that whoever talks the most during a negotiation loses.
Being the rst to listen helps establish trust. Listening also involves paying attention to what the other side is saying.36 A person might begin a negotiating session
claiming to want a bigger share of the division budget. Yet careful listening might
indicate that he really is looking for his department to receive more respect and
attention. So the issue is not nancial.
As shown in the example just presented, listening helps the negotiator dig for
information as to why the other side wants what it does.37 If the other side wants
a bigger budget just to have more respect, there are less expensive ways to grant
respect than grant a bigger share of the budget. Perhaps the leader can give the
person a classier job title, rename the department, or appoint the person to head a
task force. For example, the head of marketing is renamed chief of brands, and
her department, brand development.
Begin with a Plausible Demand or Offer Most people believe that compromise and
allowing room for negotiation include beginning with an extreme demand or offer.
The theory is that the nal compromise will be closer to the true demand or offer than
if the negotiation were opened more realistically. But a plausible demand is better because it reects good-faith bargaining. Also, if a third party has to resolve the conict,
a plausible demand or offer will receive more sympathy than an implausible one.
Focus on Interests, Not Positions Rather than clinging to specic negotiating
points, one should keep overall interests in mind and try to satisfy them. Remember that the true object of negotiation is to satisfy the underlying interests of both
sides. As professional mediator John Heister explains, when you focus on interests,
all of the disputants get on the same side of the table and say, We have a problem
to solve. Based on our common interests, we need to nd a solution that meets the
needs of each of the stakeholders.38
Here is how the strategy works: Your manager asks you to submit a proposal for
increasing sales volume. You see it as an important opportunity to link up with another distributor. When you submit your ideas, you learn that management wants
to venture further into ecommerce, not to expand the dealer network. Instead of
insisting on linking with another dealer, be exible. Ask to be included in the decision making for additional involvement in ecommerce. You will increase your sales
volume (your true interest), and you may enjoy such secondary benets as having
helped the company develop a stronger ecommerce presence.
Search for the Value in Differences Between the Two Sides Negotiation researcher
and practitioner James K. Sebenius explains that according to conventional
wisdom we negotiate to overcome the differences dividing the two sides. So we
hope to nd winwin agreements by searching for common ground. However,
many sources of value in negotiation arise from differences among the parties.
The differences may suggest useful ideas for breaking a deadlock and reaching a
constructive agreement. Framed differently, the differences might suggest what
solution will work for both sides. Here is an example:
373
A small technology company and its investors were stuck in a difcult negotiation with
a large acquiring company insistent on paying much less than the asking price. Exploring the differences, it turned out that the acquirer was actually willing to pay the higher
price but was concerned about elevating price expectations for further companies it
might purchase in the same sector. The solution was for the two sides to agree on a
moderate, well-publicized purchase price. The deal contained complex contingencies
that almost guaranteed a much higher price later.39
(So, in the end, searching for values in differences functions like winwin.)
Be Sensitive to International Differences in Negotiating Style A challenge facing
the multicultural leader is how to negotiate successfully with people from other
cultures. Frank L. Acuff notes that Americans often have a no-nonsense approach
to negotiation. Key attitudes underlying the American approach to negotiation
include:
Tell it like it is.

Whats the bottom line?
Lets get it out.
Knowledge Bank
Describes an experiment
about how culture can
inuence negotiation.
www.cengage.com/
management/dubrin
A problem with this type of frankness and seeming impatience is that people
from other cultures may interpret such remarks as rudeness. The adverse interpretation, in turn, may lead to a failed negotiation. Acuff gives a case example: It
is unlikely in Mexico or Japan that the other side is going to answer yes or no to
any question. You will have to discern answers to questions through the context
of what is being said rather than from the more obvious direct cues that U.S. negotiators use.40 By sizing up what constitutes an effective negotiating style, the
negotiator stands a reasonable chance of achieving a collaborative solution. Other
cross-cultural differences in negotiation style include these tendencies: Japanese
avoid direct confrontation and prefer an exchange of information. Russians crave
combat; Koreans are team players; Nigerians prefer the spoken word; and Indians
the written one.41 (We caution again, that cultural stereotypes are true much of the
time, but not all of the time.)
When asked to describe the essence of good negotiating in a few sentences, master negotiator Roger Fisher replied, Be rm and friendly. Hard on the problem,
soft on the people. Find out what the other side views as important and negotiate
on that. Let the other side make the deal better from its point of view, at the same
time that you gain what you are looking for.42 Adding to Fishers comments, it is
important to recognize that you might want to make another deal, another day,
with the same party. As a result, you want to conduct yourself in a dignied way
and not attempt to maximize gain for you, and minimize gain for the other side.
Negotiating and bargaining, as with any other leadership and management
skill, require conceptual knowledge and practice. Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 12-3 gives you an opportunity to practice collaboration, the most integrative form of negotiating and bargaining, as well as conict resolution. Practice in
nding options for mutual gains is helpful for the leader because negotiating is a
high-impact part of his or her job.
374
CHAPTER 12

Integrative Bargaining
The class is organized into groups of six, with each
group being divided into two negotiating teams of
three each. The members of the negotiating teams
would like to nd an integrative (winwin) solution to the issue separating the two sides. The team
members are free to invent their own pressing issue,
or they can choose one of the following:
Management wants to control costs by not giving

cost-of-living adjustments in the upcoming year.
The employee group believes that a cost-of-living
adjustment is absolutely necessary for its welfare.
The marketing team claims it could sell 250,000

units of a toaster wide enough to toast bagels if
the toasters could be produced at $10 per unit.
The manufacturing group says it would not be

feasible to get the manufacturing cost below
$15 per unit.
Blockbuster Video would like to build in a new

location that is adjacent to a historic district in
one of the oldest cities in North America. The
members of the town planning board would like
the tax revenue and jobs that the Blockbuster
store would bring, but they do not want a
Blockbuster store adjacent to the historic district.
After the teams have arrived at their solutions

through high-level negotiating techniques, the creative solutions can be shared with teammates.
Readers Roadmap
So far we have studied considerable information about the nature of
leadership; the attributes, behaviors, and styles of leaders; the ethics and
social responsibility of leaders; and how leaders exert power and use politics
and inuence. We then studied techniques for developing teamwork, as well
as motivation and coaching skills. After studying creativity and innovation
as part of leadership, we focused on communication skills as they relate to
leadership. Next, we shift our study to direction setting at the organizational
level: strategic leadership.
SUMMARY
Open communication between company leaders and
employees helps an organization overcome problems
and attain success. Effective communication skills
contribute to inspirational leadership. Nonverbal skills
are also important for leadership effectiveness.
Inspirational and powerful communication
helps leaders carry out their roles. Suggestions for
inspirational and powerful speaking and writing

include the following: (1) be credible; (2) gear your
message to your listener; (3) sell group members on the
benets of your suggestions; (4) use heavy-impact and
emotion-provoking words; (5) use anecdotes to communicate meaning; (6) back up conclusions with data;
(7) minimize language errors, junk words, and
Key Terms
vocalized pauses; (8) use business jargon in appropriate

doses, and (9) write crisp, clear memos, letters, and
reports, including a front-loaded message.
Using a power-oriented linguistic style is another
way to communicate with inspiration and power.
The style includes a variety of techniques, such as
downplaying uncertainty, emphasizing direct rather
than indirect talks, and choosing an effective communication frame. Leaders can also improve their
communication skills by following the six principles
of persuasion: liking, reciprocity, social proof, consistency, authority, and scarcity.
Skill can also be developed in using nonverbal
communication that connotes power, being in control,
forcefulness, and self-condence. Videoconferencing
places heavy demands on nonverbal communication.
Among the suggestions for nonverbal communication
are to stand erect; speak at a moderate pace with a
loud, clear tone; and smile frequently in a relaxed manner. A persons external image also plays an important
part in communicating messages to others. People pay
more respect and grant more privileges to those they
perceive as being well dressed and neatly groomed.
Listening is a fundamental management and leadership skill. Two impediments for the leaders who wants
to listen well are (1) leaders are already overloaded, and
(2) people can listen to more words per minute than
others can speak. Leaders have to be careful about listening selectively. A robust communication channel for
the leader/manager is to engage in face-to-face communication with direct reports by making the rounds.
Overcoming communication barriers created by
dealing with people from different cultures is another
leadership and management challenge. Guidelines for
overcoming cross-cultural barriers include the following: (1) be sensitive to the existence of cross-cultural
communication barriers; (2) challenge your cultural
assumptions; (3) show respect for all workers; (4) use
straightforward language, and speak slowly and
375
clearly; (5) look for signs of misunderstanding when

your language is not the listeners native language;
(6) when appropriate, speak in the language of the
people from another culture; (7) observe cross-cultural
differences in etiquette; (8) do not be diverted by style,
accent, grammar, or personal appearance; (9) avoid
racial or ethnic identication except when it is essential to communication; (10) be sensitive to differences
in nonverbal communication; and (11) be attentive to
individual differences in appearance.
Leaders and managers spend considerable time
managing conict. Resolving conict facilitates collaboration. Five major styles of conict management
are as follows: competitive, accommodative, sharing,
collaborative (winwin), and avoidant. Each style
is based on a combination of satisfying ones own
concerns (assertiveness) and satisfying the concerns
of others (cooperativeness). The collaborative style
of conict management includes agreeing with the
criticizer, and apologizing. When resolving conict,
people typically combine several of the ve resolution styles to accomplish their purpose, such as
dominating and accommodating. Which modes of
conict handling to use depends upon a number of
variables, as presented in detail in Table 12-4.
A high-level managerial skill is to help two or
more group members resolve conict between or
among them. The most useful approach is to get the
parties in conict to engage in confrontation and
problem solving.
Conicts can be considered situations calling for
negotiating and bargaining. Specic negotiating
techniques include the following: (1) listen rst to
investigate what the other side wants; (2) begin with
a plausible demand or offer; (3) focus on interests,
not positions; (4) search for the value in differences
between the two sides; and (5) be sensitive to international differences in negotiating style.
KEY TERMS
Linguistic style
Making the rounds
Winwin approach to conict

resolution

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter and doing

Inspirational and Powerful Communication

Explain why good communication

Describe the six basic principles of

Describe the challenge of selective

Be sensitive to the importance of

Identify basic approaches to

Speaking and Writing

Listening as a Leadership Skill

Overcoming Cross-Cultural Communication

Communication and Conict Resolution Skills

ve heard so many executives tell employ-

What would you do differently if you were

ees to be candid and then jump down

running the company? Whats the biggest thing

their throats if they bring up a problem or

getting in the way of you doing your job well?

dent and CEO of FatWire, a software company

FatWire should beef up its staff in marketing

that helps businesses manage their web sites.

and in product development. Others have coun-

ask a critical question, says Yogesh Gupta, presi-

Gupta was determined not to do that when

Already he has learned from these talks that

seled him to improve FatWires customer-support

he was recruited to FatWire from CA (Com-

processes. Every time Gupta has gotten good

puter Associates). Since then he has spent hours

advice privately, he has found a way to publicly

talking with his 200 employees and seeking the

praise the manager so others will come forward

advice of his nine senior managersall but one

of whom are veterans of the company. He has

I know I have to say, You did the right thing to

frequent private meetings with each member of

speak up again and again because employees fear

the management team so they will feel freer to

theyll get blamed if they say anything negative,

be candid with him. In that way, he can ask the

important questions: What am I doing wrong?

Communication and Conict Resolution Skills

Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 12-1

1. When I begin to speak in a group, most people stop talking, turn

2. I receive compliments on the quality of my writing.

3. The reaction to the outgoing message on my voicemail has been

4. I welcome the opportunity to speak in front of a group.

5. I have published something, including a letter to the editor, an article

6. I have my own web site.

7. The vast majority of my written projects in school have received a

8. People generally laugh when I tell a joke or make what I think is a

9. I stay informed by reading newspapers, watching news on television,

10. I have heard such terms as enthusiastic, animated, colorful, or dynamic

Total score: ________________

Communication and Conict Resolution Skills

INSPIRATIONAL AND POWERFUL COMMUNICATION

Speaking and Writing

TABLE 12-1 Suggestions for Inspirational Speaking and Writing

Inspirational and Powerful Communication

Gear Your Message to the Listener An axiom of persuasive communication is that