Leadership Principles
The five leadership principles are critical elements. First, leaders must be aware of their communication with others and themselves. A leader must be mindful of how they communicate and improve on these vital aspects. Leaders must be able to interpret and use verbal messages effectively. Similarly, they should also do the same for non-verbal messages. Effective use and interpretation of these elements is a critical element that ensures relationships, actions, and thoughts are positively influenced. Leaders must respond thoughtfully after actively listening. Message interpretation is a crucial element that facilitates and enhances relational empathy and comprehension. Finally, leaders must effectively adapt to the messages they provide to others (Beebe & Mottet, 2013).
Some evaluative insight based on the five principles of leadership was gathered. First, in the context of awareness, members at the meeting, including the leaders, were sufficiently aware of their communication roles and approaches. The leaders were mindful of their communication with the members. It was a successful approach in that members felt more involved in the whole process and were more responsive.
Communication was primarily carried out verbally at the meeting. The fact that the members were adequately prepared was evident in their active organization of ideas. They made cohesive and well thought out observations, recommendations, and more. It was easy to effectively interpret and use these verbal messages to drive the meeting constructively. Communication was often brief but to the point, and hence more people had the chance to contribute to the discussions – a positive outcome.
At one point, during which a conflicting issue was in discussion, I observed that leaders failed to interpret and use non-verbal messages effectively. I could read disagreement with some members in their tones and gestures during this discussion, which the leaders overlooked. Instead, they concentrated on verbal contributions. The ignoring of this aspect undermined the fact that some members’ attitudes, feelings, or emotions were not in agreement with some points of the discussion – a critical element for an effective and successful meeting.
Finally, I felt that, to a great extent, messages were not effectively adapted to others. A one-size-fits-all approach was primarily used, which created the problem that some members failed to receive these messages effectively. For example, from observation, many of the members inclined towards exhaustively discussion issues, presenting arguments, and having an overall comprehensive approach. The leaders of the meeting did not accommodate this element, often taking brief approaches to critical issues. Although agreements were reached at the end, I feel that most members felt left out by this approach and hence ineffectively contributed.
Reference
Beebe, S., & Mottet, T. (2013). Business and professional communication. Allyn et Bacon.