Effective organizational communication is critically important; it can literally be the decisive factor in an organization’s success or lack thereof. In particular, communication at the managerial level is essential as it relates to interactions between management and employees. As Shelby (1993) noted more than two decades ago, managerial communication has an identity of its own (Shelby, 1993, p. 254). Indeed, these identities are established at the group and individual level and are manifested from both verbal and nonverbal communications. As Lunenburg (2010) noted, “people communicate as much nonverbally (i.e. without words) as they do verbally” (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 1). However, when it comes to listening, nonverbal behavior on the
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For instance, the employee is told to meet the manager in the office in five minutes and the employee is on time, but the manager takes 15 minutes to get there. As Lunenburg (2010) opined, “being late for a meeting can convey any number different messages” (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 4). In the managerial communication sphere, this is especially true. One possibility is that the manager is angry or wants to “establish their superiority” over the subordinate (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 4). Alternatively, maybe it simply means the manager was unavoidably detained and arrived late. At this point, who knows what? While the employee has to read the body language of the manager, the manager must do so likewise while also actually …show more content…
Effective listening has to be an inherent albeit learnable characteristic of the listener. In any event, assuming the listener is reasonably adept at listening skills, there is still the matter of catching the ball when the pitch is thrown. The key to effective listening is the understanding on the part of the listener; the catcher, by definition, is also throwing the ball back to the pitcher after every pitch through nonverbal communication. Meanwhile, the catcher must read the pitcher’s signs. As Lunenburg (2010) observed, “it is important for leaders to understand the meaning of nonverbal cues from organizational members in the workplace” (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 1). How does the manager’s nonverbal behavior affect the employees and vice versa?
A more infrequently discussed but equally important aspect of effective, nonverbal managerial listening is note taking whenever practical, appropriate, and/or necessary. In the hypothetical presented herein, the employee had “something” to say to the manager. It is now revealed that “something” involved the wreck of a company car on the employee’s personal time. As the manager takes notes, even the way the manager takes the notes or the how they look while taking the notes can affect the
For instance, the employee is told to meet the manager in the office in five minutes and the employee is on time, but the manager takes 15 minutes to get there. As Lunenburg (2010) opined, “being late for a meeting can convey any number different messages” (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 4). In the managerial communication sphere, this is especially true. One possibility is that the manager is angry or wants to “establish their superiority” over the subordinate (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 4). Alternatively, maybe it simply means the manager was unavoidably detained and arrived late. At this point, who knows what? While the employee has to read the body language of the manager, the manager must do so likewise while also actually …show more content…
Effective listening has to be an inherent albeit learnable characteristic of the listener. In any event, assuming the listener is reasonably adept at listening skills, there is still the matter of catching the ball when the pitch is thrown. The key to effective listening is the understanding on the part of the listener; the catcher, by definition, is also throwing the ball back to the pitcher after every pitch through nonverbal communication. Meanwhile, the catcher must read the pitcher’s signs. As Lunenburg (2010) observed, “it is important for leaders to understand the meaning of nonverbal cues from organizational members in the workplace” (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 1). How does the manager’s nonverbal behavior affect the employees and vice versa?
A more infrequently discussed but equally important aspect of effective, nonverbal managerial listening is note taking whenever practical, appropriate, and/or necessary. In the hypothetical presented herein, the employee had “something” to say to the manager. It is now revealed that “something” involved the wreck of a company car on the employee’s personal time. As the manager takes notes, even the way the manager takes the notes or the how they look while taking the notes can affect the