Running head: LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 1

Leadership, Communication and Motivation

Todd J Waite

Siena Heights University

April 9, 2019
LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 2

Leadership, Communication and Motivation

There are many examples of great leaders and leadership styles and techniques. To be a

great leader you have to communicate very well. The better someone communicates the better

leader they can be. Communication isn’t the only part of leadership though, you must be able to

motivate and manage your followers to accomplish given tasks. A leader’s organization will

eventually come up against what has been described as blocks. The goal of a leader should be to

successfully guide their employees to complete goals and tasks while creating a work

environment that is conducive to creativity, productivity and enjoyable for everyone.

Blocks and Why they Occur

Whetten & Cameron(1984)outlines four conceptual blocks that prevent creative problem

solving. Those blocks are constancy, commitment, compression and complicacy.

 Constancy – someone become becomes attached to one way of approaching and looking

at a problem and solving it. (Whetten & Cameron, 1984)

 Commitment – someone who is committed to a point of view, definition or a solution and

will not change. (Whetten & Cameron, 1984)

 Compression – taking to narrow of an approach to a problem and leaving out pertinent

information that can dramatically affect a solution. Over simplification. (Whetten &

Cameron 1984)

 Complacency – Failing to see a need to change or improve based on fear, ignorance,

insecurity, or laziness (Whetten & Cameron, 1984). Commonly doing it one way because

it always has been.

All of the blocks can be present in one form or another at the same time because they are

related. Leaders must recognize and combat these blocks to maintain and increase productivity

and correct problems. Traits that are related to blocks can be fear of change, laziness,

stubbornness and being unwise to the facts or environment. Andrea Eastwood stated in week

five “The conceptual blocks identified by Whetten of constancy, commitment, compression and

complacency all have a tie to individual perceptions, bias, resistance and pre-determined

thinking”

When you have someone that applies the same solution to every problem without looking at

it from any other point of view you have the Constancy block. This is caused mostly by being

lazy and or narrow which is also related to the Compression block. The compression block

someone does not take in all of the available information to make a decision or solve a problem.

They omit, either on purpose or on accident information that can affect the end result.

The last one I personally believe is a product of being comfortable and somewhat blind to a

situation that can be improved. This block is complacency. Complacency is when nothing is

necessarily very wrong, however it may go wrong in the future if things are not changed.

Another possibility could be that things can be much improved if there is a change made. I must

also add in that I do not believe that change should be made just for the sake of change. Change

is not always progress.

My Block Experiences

I have been in many situations where blocks were present and on several different levels.

I experience two a lot with my current place of employment. The agency that I work for just had

their 100th anniversary in 2017. The entire agency is rooted deep in tradition mainly because the

history is something to be very proud of. However, the environment of the job is rapidly
LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 4

changing and evolving as well as the technology that is being used. The agency however is

stubborn to change and doesn’t do so without a fight. As I said before there can be two blocks

present. In this case constancy and complacency are the blocks that are present. The department

resists change because they are complacent with where they are, and they want to stay doing

things the same way because of “tradition”.

I have seen compression happen many times in different work settings and the easiest

example is discipline. I have seen leaders take the same “fix” and use it across the board when it

comes to discipline. This commonly makes a punishment that doesn’t fit the crime. Too light of a

punishment and the offender doesn’t feel remorse and will make the same decision again. Too

heavy of a punishment and it will crush the person and they may not perform.

I have experienced the commitment block when leaders are trying to accomplish a task and

they are overcommitted to a way that is not or will not work. They refuse to change causing a

delay or failure in completing the task.

How can Communication based Creativity be Promoted?

In week five Michael Gilliam stated that he avoids negative feedback or judicial reviews

of suggested solutions. I couldn’t agree more when it comes to creative problem solving. If you

improperly squash an idea that is laid out by someone they will be less likely to provide a idea in

the future and that idea they do not provide could be the best one available. That is where

communication in this process becomes so important. A leader must learn to navigate their

followers’ ideas through communication without shutting them down with a negative comment.

In the discussion if week five Anthony Gianino wrote about the near disaster of Apollo 13

mission and how communication and creativity saved the lives of three astronauts. This mission

a oxygen tank exploded and damaged the spacecraft they were in. The astronauts and NASA
LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 5

scientists were able to solve problems using devices in ways that they were never intended to

stretch limited supplies and oxygen during the mission on top of being able to power up their

command module without causing further damage or a complete system crash.

Some companies use monetary incentives for employees to come up with solutions to

problems that help the company. Effie Webb stated in the week six discussion that her company

reward $500 to an individual who provides an idea that can provide a tangible result. When I was

in the Air Force there was a reward program to streamline processes. Rewards could be given

out to Airmen who had doable ideas that would fix problems or save time and money. The

incentives do not always have to be monetary though. You commonly see employee of the month

programs that give special privileges to employees such as a particular parking spot or alternate

work position within a company. Employers can also offer extra time off as an incentive. These

techniques although are not creative in nature by the leadership do work well.

One effective method of problem solving that I like is making a team that has different

backgrounds and specialties otherwise called a multi-disciplinary team. A leader can create and

implement a multi-disciplinary team and assign it to solve a specific problem. Having a multi-

disciplinary team attack a problem will breed creativity and naturally avoid blocks because of the

nature of the teams. Since the members of the team were plucked from differing backgrounds

and disciplines they will be able to see problems from each of their perspective areas of

expertise. This means that the solutions that these kinds of teams come up with will be more

inclusive and thought out and because of this the solution will be more acceptable to a wider

range of people.
LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 6

Combating Blocks

Creative Blocks are another way of saying that the creative process is stalled out. You

just need to find a way to create the spark and get the engine running again. A good leader uses

their communication skills to start the process again. In week 5 Calvin Wheeler stated, “When a

leader is trying to address conceptual blocks I think it’s best to start with inquiries in an attempt

to gather an employee’s thought process, intentions, and level of understanding”.

Communicating with followers and understanding them and how they work is the first step. This

is called inquiry and is the form of communication leaders should use to start.

Martz, Hughes, & Braun (2016) talks about how classes promoted creativity by starting

with a small “ice breaker” question to solve. This can be helpful in getting the creative process

started by getting the mind on track. Taking this approach can also be used to start free thinking.

Creative thinking can be improved by freethinking and leaders should embrace this (GAUTAM,

2001). While this is taking place, the leader can guide the process through advocacy by

supporting those who are in the process. “Innovation can be fostered by asking strategic

questions at appropriate times” (Richard, 2003). Leaders can guide and keep the process going

by asking thought provoking questions, this way leaders can put their own thoughts into the

process without dictating it which will improve relations with the followers.

Creativity is natural and if there is a lack of creativity it is because it has been suppressed

because there is a push to conformity from a young age through older style education (Ario

2004). This must be broken by fostering the creativity that is there. Again, this is done by

communication using inquiry and advocacy. That is a process that doesn’t stop. Coates & Jarratt

(1994) show that for corporate success can be had by promoting creativity by providing freedom,

encouragement, recognition, challenge, resources and time to their employees.

Examples

Being in the military for nine years combined with another seven years in a police

department I have experienced at least ten, unit level commanders and 40 or more direct

supervisors. I have experienced many good and bad ways of communication. The trick to

effective communication is learning how to manipulate your followers into doing what you need.

That sounds harsh but it is the most blunt and true way to put it.

The communication that is the worst is no communication at all. A minimalist way of

communicating that barely gets the job done. The leader has no relationship with their employees

and it creates a bad work environment. This is similar to the one direction communication, a

“my way or the highway” management style that can also be a form of micro management. I

experienced this at one place I worked, and it lowered productivity and destroyed morale and

that particular leader was actually passed over for promotion twice because of it. I had an

awkward ride with that leader after he was passed up and he had absolutely no clue what the

problem was. He blamed his missed promotion on the performance of the unit over a holiday

weekend not the yearly surveys that were done where he scored at the bottom of the department

as a leader.

The communication that I have seen that works the best is a very open style of

communication where the leader is involved with their employees but not in a micro-manager

way. The difference would be that in this instance the leader is involved but the communication

is open and goes both ways. The work environment is more relaxed and performs well because

the employees have the creative freedom mention above and the leaders with the open

communication actively practice advocacy and inquiry. The danger in this environment is that if

the leader brings himself to a level where he is too friendly, and respect is lost between the leader
LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 8

and their followers. This can be caused by too much joking or horseplay between the leader and

the followers.

Conclusion

In the end leaders must communicate tactfully with their followers though inquiry and

advocacy and repeating this to keep the creative process going. Also, though this process the

leaders need to give their followers what they need to continue. When leaders communicate

properly they build a meaningful relationship and rapport with their employees and this in turn

motivates the employees to enjoy work and perform better. The best leaders that I have worked

under operated like this. Your motivation under them did not come from a fear of punishment

for not doing your job or making a mistake. The motivation came from not wanting to

disappoint the leader. That is the kind of leader I strive to be, the respected leader instead of the

feared leader. I believe that a leader is not on top of a team but part of it and they should lead

from within the team and communication is the key to successful leadership. Successful

communication as a leader can help navigate around the conceptual blocks.

References
Ario, B. D. (2004). Workplace creativity. SuperVision, 65(6), 16-18. Retrieved from

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu/docview/195597955?accountid=

28644

Coates, J. F., & Jarratt, J. (1994). Workplace creativity. Employment Relations Today, 21(1), 11.

Retrieved from https://searchproquest.com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu/docview/23708 056

8?accountid=28644

Gautam, K. (2001). Conceptual blockbusters: Creative idea generation techniques for health

administrators. Hospital Topics, 79(4), 19-25. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu/docview/214588104?accountid=28644

Martz, B., Hughes, J., & Braun, F. (2016). Creativity and problem-solving: Closing the skills

gap. The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 57(1), 39-48.

doi:2048/10.1080/08874417.2016.118

Richard, J. T. (2003). Ideas on fostering creative problem solving in executive coaching.

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 55(4), 249-256.

doi:2048/10.1037/1061-4087.55.4.249

Whetten, D. & Cameron, K. (1984). Developing management skills. New York, NY:

HarperCollins
LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 10