Module V

Leadership Skills
Communication skills:

It helps to plan, manage, organize, promote, innovate various marketing,

management, development, construction processes, and systems. Communication
skills are important to market and promote the business. Communication skills help to
build and inspire people to work towards organizational goals. And communication
skills is the method that a business can use to provide great customer experience.

Communication skills are important to remove the communication gap between

employer and employees. Communication skills help to reduce stress and improve
productivity. And this is the way that inspires everyone to achieve the organizational
goals effectively and happily. That’s why communication skills are very important in
business management and organizations.

Let’s get started, and understand in details by learning the following reasons and
examples that why communication skills matter the most in business management and
daily organizational works.

Communication skills help to do strategic business planning:

Communication skills help in generating new business ideas and plans. When
business leaders communicate with each other in a meeting, then it’s for a reason that
is profitable for both. Effective communication enables team members to share the
new ideas, a method to reduce the cost, increase the profitability and problem-solving
tips/methods/presentations in a group discussion or meetups.

But it happens, when the team leader has effective listening skills and positive body
expression. When a boss and team leader is a good listener then it increases the
confidence in team members to communicate solutions.

Else there are many leaders and boss talk too much and listen less and behave rudely.
This creates a communication gap between employee and boss. And the boss and
company never get the benefits from the knowledge of their employees, especially in
strategic planning.

That’s why communication skills are important in business. It’s not only important for
the employees so that they can present the idea clearly and confidently but
communication skills also help boss and leaders to listen and understand what others
think about their business plans and ideas.

Communication skills help to manage people and sources:

Communication skills help managers and business owners to manage the team and
resources effectively. the goal of management is to increase the productivity of each
team member and at the same time reduce the wastage of resources. But to achieve
this goal they have to be effective in verbal, written, presentation skills and positive
body language.

For example, if any new employee is not feeling confident in the office and not
getting the ideas how to start then it’s a duty of a manager to go and communicate
with that person and make eye contact. He/She can discuss certain methods, stories,
goals, tips and even a friendly handshake can boost the morale of the person. The
overall goal is to increase the confidence of the person at work. But it’s not possible,
without effective communication.

Effective Communication skills help to promote business:

You want to build the presence of your business online or want to promote it locally,
you need marketing skills. And communication skills is one of the most important
marketing skill in itself.

What and how you communicate about your profession and business, it matters the
most when someone asking you or you’re introducing it to potential clients. Your
style of presentation, communication, vocabulary, body language, and listening make
it possible to get the projector spread a positive impact on your business in front of
people. People remember you, how you did it with them. Everything that you do in
marketing from social media posts to blog post, search engine ads to display ads,
radio ads to TV ads, everything is communicating about you and your
product/services.

Your text, images, infographics, videos, likes, shares, selfies and updates
communicating about you online and offline. Many people can take it positively and
many will take it negatively. But directly and indirectly, it is marketing.

The more you think and analyze the goals of your business and potential customers,
the better you can communicate with them through the blog post, social media,
videos, and advertisements. And better and effective communication market your
personality, business and goals in the market more than dull and negative
communication.

Communication skills enhance the innovative capabilities of organizations:

When a team member communicates with each other with respect then it combines
the sense of friendship. And this friendship between different experts, departments,
leaders will build learning and knowledge sharing environment and increase the
capacity of working hard.

Communication skills help to engage/retain/attract new and old team member:

Effective communication in managerial position and leadership in a company inspire

people to work with focused to achieve organizational goals. It helps to build long-
term work partnerships with clients and team members. When manager and leaders
behave respectively with the teams and clients and help and communicate softly and
friendly in the various negative and complex situation then it converts small teams of
people into bigger teams, small company into a big company. that’s why
communication skills are important in business. In conclusion, it can say that
communication skills are the first skills that are important to start, operate, market and
expand the business.

Following are the things that can help to improve communication skills:

1) Knowledge about the subject, skill, and situation more broadly.

2) The habit of learning and listening to others.
3) Low level of ego.
4) Respect for others.
5) Capacity to appreciate others efforts.
Decision- Making skills:

Decision-making is a leadership skill that managers use to assess a situation and

determine how the organization may proceed. The decision-making process involves
the following steps:

 Devising solutions: After learning more information about the case, the
manager creates one or several possible solutions.
 Weighing options: The manager analyzes the advantages and disadvantages
of each option and explores alternative solutions if needed.
 Identifying the challenge: In this step, the manager discovers an issue and
determines the circumstances that led to the situation.
 Making a choice: Once a thorough assessment takes place, the manager
makes a final decision about what action to take.
 Informing others of the decision: The manager informs employees of the
decision and explains how the decision influences the workplace.

Analytical Skills

Analytical skills help you collect and assess information before you make a final
decision. An analytical person zooms out on the problem, looks at all the facts, and
tries to interpret any patterns or findings they might see. These kinds of skills help
you make fact-based decisions using logical thinking.

Emotional intelligence

Individuals with high emotional intelligence are better at controlling and processing
emotions in challenging situations. This skill set enables managers to empathise with
the feeling of their team members, making it easier to communicate with each of
them. It allows them to have a healthy discussion about a challenge and create an
environment where each person’s thought process receives an acknowledgement.

Critical thinking skills

Critical thinking skills are essential for decision-making because it allows managers
and leaders to gather information and analyse it to extract critical data. These skills
ensure that a leader’s decisions offer a desirable outcome and minimise the risk of
errors that might disrupt the project or company’s growth. Critical thinking skills
involve a lot of research and reflection on past scenarios to solve similar challenges.

Logical reasoning

Leaders evaluate all the data and facts presented for making critical business
decisions. To ensure you make the right decision, it is essential to evaluate and review
the advantages and disadvantages of your decision. When choosing between
alternatives, consider every data point to guide decision-making. Decisions backed by
data and reasoning help you stay committed to achieving organisational goals.
Creativity Skills

Decision-making isn’t just all facts and figures; it also requires creative thinking to
brainstorm solutions that might not be so straightforward or traditional. Creative
decision-makers think outside of what’s been done before and develop original ideas
and solutions for solving problems. In addition, they’re open-minded and willing to
try new things.

Collaboration Skills

Good decisions take into account multiple ideas and perspectives. Collaboration skills
help you find a solution by working together with one or more teammates. Involving
numerous people in the decision-making process can help bring together different
skillsets, exposing you to other problem-solving methods and ways of thinking.

Leadership Skills

While collaboration is often crucial for good decision-making, someone must take the
lead and make a final decision. Leadership skills can help you consider all
perspectives and decide on a singular solution that best represents your team
members’ ideas.

You don’t need to be a manager to take the lead in decision-making. Even if you
don’t have the final say, speaking up and sharing your ideas will not only help you
stand out at work but prove you can be an effective leader.

Emotional management skills are abilities that help you regulate your emotional
responses to situations. They are a key part of emotional intelligence, which is a term
that refers to a person’s ability to identify and understand their own emotions and
those of other people. Emotional management skills may take time and effort to
develop, but they can help you become an effective professional and supportive
teammate.

For developing emotion management skills, being open to one’s thoughts and feelings
is not enough. You must have complete authority over changing your thoughts and
feelings that are generated whenever your values are touched by the actions of a
person or an event. This is important because the change in your thoughts and feelings
is what helps change your emotions, preventing from reactive outbursts.

Professionals who regulate their emotions might find it easier to act rationally in high-
stress situations and make effective professional choices. Developing emotional
management skills can help professionals in a wide range of industries and jobs,
including leadership positions. Emotional management skills can help you perform
many tasks, including:

 Resolving conflict with colleagues or clients

 Giving presentations or speaking publicly
 Assisting customers
 Leading performance evaluations
 Training new teammates
 Mentoring colleagues
 Completing tasks under time constraints
 Adapting to changes in project plans
Emotional management skills

Reflection

Reflecting allows you to discover why you had a certain emotional reaction to a
situation or person and can help you resolve conflicts by separating the emotion from
the situation. For example, if you had a conflict with a colleague about a decision they
made while you were absent from work, it might help to reflect on whether you
disagree with their decision or whether you feel insecure that you weren’t present for
the discussion. Knowing the cause of your feelings might help you reach a
compromise with your colleague.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is a skill that allows you to predict how a situation or person might
affect you by understanding your own emotional state. It can allow you to observe
your emotional reactions to situations and learn how to improve your responses. For
example, if you understand that being prepared allows you to feel calmer and more
confident at work, then you can take steps to ensure that you’re as prepared as
possible for the workday. Feeling secure in your work environment can lower your
stress levels and make you more resilient to changes or obstacles.

Acceptance

A key emotional management skill is the ability to accept your emotions without
assigning a value to them, which can help you react rationally to a situation that’s
causing you to feel a certain way. By accepting your emotions, you can often recover
from an emotional reaction more easily, allowing you to focus on the next task.
Learning to accept your own emotions can also help you develop empathy towards
others by relating your emotions to their own.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to relate to how other people feel in a situation using your own
experience. Using empathy in the workplace can help you build rewarding
relationships with colleagues and prevent conflicts. You can use empathy to recognize
when a colleague needs help managing their workload and understand when they
become frustrated at an obstacle or delay. Understanding their feelings can help you
work with them to create a solution to the problem.

Perspective

Developing a sense of perspective can help you manage your emotions by placing
them into context. For example, if you feel nervous before giving a presentation to an
audience, you can put that emotion into perspective by recognizing that it’s normal to
feel some anxiety about public speaking and that many successful professionals feel
this way. Perspective can remind you that emotions are a healthy response to
situations and that you can overcome them to accomplish your tasks.
Steps to improve:

Stop. This may be the most difficult of all three steps because you need a very strong
will power. The next time your emotions are so strong that you feel hijacked by them
and feel a strong urge to take an action that you may regret later on, stop right there
and think! Start looking for cues and the thoughts and feelings that have aggravated
that behavior.

Drop. Now that you are through with the most difficult part, engage yourself in an
activity that will help you calm down. Without dropping the intensity of your
emotions you may never be able to think clearly and rationally.

Process. Now you’ll be in a better position to think about it all and come up with an
appropriate reaction. First of all, identify the emotions you are feeling. It is better to
update you ‘emotions-vocabulary’ for this purpose. Once you have identified what
precisely it is that you’re feeling, think about its source and find out why you are
feeling that way. Once you have the answers to both these questions right in front of
you, you are the better judge of which is the best way to proceed, bearing in mind
your ultimate goals as well as personal values.
Public Relation Skills

Public relations skills are a wide range of capabilities and proficiencies that typically
fall under the category of communications and marketing. These skills can be put to
use for a variety of purposes, from introducing new products or services to enhancing
the reputation of a company. In most cases, public relations skills help shape public
opinion, which is especially helpful if a company wants to reshape its brand.

Public Relations experts ought to possess the following skills for a highly successful
and rewarding career.

Creative

A public relations expert needs to be extremely creative and should be able to think
out of the box. He/She should be able to come out with innovative ideas to promote
the organization and its products among the target audience. In today’s world of fierce
competition, it is really essential for marketers and public relations experts to
experiment with new ideas /concepts and develop something which would benefit the
end-users.

Excellent Writing Skills

A Public Relations expert needs to write well. He ought to be creative and should
master the art of putting thoughts into meaningful words. Your words need to create
the desired impact and influence the customers. Make sure whatever you write is
relevant and puts your organization in the best light.

Study a lot

Public relations experts ought to study a lot and do extensive research before
designing public relations activities.

Good Communication Skills

Public Relations experts must master the art of effective communication skills. It is
really essential to speak well. Don’t just speak for the sake of it. Public relations
experts must ensure the recipients have understood what they intend to communicate.
Two-way communication is the essence of effective public relations. Whatever you
communicate ought to make sense and well understood by target customers.

Proactive

A public relation professional ought to be proactive and on his toes always. He needs
to have a strong grasping power with an eagerness to learn. Lazy individuals generally
do not make good public relations professionals.
Competitors’ research

Keep your eyes and ears open. Find out what your competitors are up to. It is really
important to keep a close watch on competitor’s activities and initiatives. You may
draw inspiration from them but following them blindly would do no benefit and in
turn tarnish your organization’s image.

Loyal towards your Job

Be loyal towards your job. Remember a public relations job is not only a nine to six
job. You need to stay back sometimes even at odd hours and you can’t just complain.
At times you need to meet lots of people in a single day but one can’t crib. One needs
to be a little flexible. Make that little extra effort to satisfy your clients.

Be Friendly

A Public relations expert needs to have strong networking skills. As a Public relations
representative one needs to have a strong association with people from media
industry(TV, Radio, Print Newspapers/Magazines), employees, investors,
shareholders, partners etc. Sometimes it really becomes essential to flash your smile
and get your work done. Never ever spoil your relationship with anyone. Don’t fight
with anyone. If you do not like someone, the best way is to ignore. You never know
when you might need the other person.

Pleasing Personality

Public Relations Professionals need to have a pleasing personality. Make sure you
dress smartly. Public relations experts need to be extroverts.

Tech savvy

Depend on social networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut, and Twitter to spread
awareness and promote your organization.

In workplace:

Flexibility: Being a public relations specialist requires you to adapt quickly to

changing circumstances. For example, in one public relations campaign, your main
responsibility may be to introduce a new product. In another, it may be to announce a
shift in the company’s direction. You need to be flexible enough to be equally
effective in both roles.

Initiative: Self-motivation is an important aspect of public relations work. You

should be able to quickly figure out how you can benefit your client, whether it
involves learning about new communication strategies or doing industry research.

Teamwork: Public relations professionals rarely work alone. In most cases, you will
work as part of a team that may include researchers, marketers and others in similar
roles. You need to be able to work well with others in high-pressure situations in
order to carry out the most effective campaign possible.
Brand management: Public relations work often involves enhancing the reputation
of your company’s brand. You should be able to leverage your brand’s strengths and
present them in a way that appeals to the public.

How to improve public relations skills

Public relations is a fast-paced industry, so you should improve your skills regularly
to remain competitive. Here are some suggestions on how you can improve your
public relations skills.

1. Learn new skills

Public relations work can place you in many situations, with new lessons to be
learned every step of the way. Use these situations as opportunities to learn new skills,
some of which you will be able to apply to other campaigns in the future.

2. Be aware of industry trends

The longer you work in the PR industry, the more aware you will be about what other
people are doing. Pay attention to what others are doing in your niche, as well as what
is going on in the wider industry. It can be beneficial to follow social media postings
of prominent PR professionals and to regularly monitor trade sites and publications to
stay current with new trends.

3. Try different writing styles

Experiment with different approaches to writing and voices you can use when
communicating with the public. Over time, you may find yourself developing your
own voice and gravitating toward it most of the time, which can give your writing a
strong personal identity. Try spending some time every day to write and communicate
with others to enrich your voice and to help you become a more versatile PR
professional.

4. Set goals for personal and professional development

Setting goals for yourself and striving to achieve them is an effective strategy for
improving your skills as a public relations professional. For example, you could aspire
toward better engagement over the next few months or increase the view count of a
particular video. Establishing personal and professional goals will give you something
to work toward and help you measure your progress.

5. Learn more about your client’s focus

Ultimately, public relations work is about helping your clients achieve their goals.
Whether they are launching a new brand, signifying a change in company direction or
enhancing the company’s reputation, your role is to help them meet these objectives
as effectively and as efficiently as possible. Therefore, you should constantly strive to
learn as much as you can about your client and how you can help them realize their
goals.
Personal ethics

Personal ethics is the code of ethical guidelines that guide you in your personal and
professional life. They often develop from your core values and work ethic into
actionable goals used in a variety of challenging situations. Your personal ethics can,
and likely will, contain common ethical guidelines that other people share, but they
will vary in their level of importance and how to maintain them.

Some common personal ethics include:

 Integrity
 Selflessness
 Honesty
 Loyalty
 Equality and fairness
 Empathy and respect
 Self-respect

Personal ethics are moral guidelines that can help you through tough situations and
make the best decisions. You are likely to use your personal ethics to develop your
career and handle many different workplace scenarios. You can develop a clear and
effective personal ethics statement that outlines the values you practice in professional
settings. In this article, we discuss what personal ethics is, describe how to write a
statement and provide a sample to help you craft your own.

What are personal ethics?

Personal ethics is the code of ethical guidelines that guide you in your personal and
professional life. They often develop from your core values and work ethic into
actionable goals used in a variety of challenging situations. Your personal ethics can,
and likely will, contain common ethical guidelines that other people share, but they
will vary in their level of importance and how to maintain them.

Some common personal ethics include:

 Integrity
 Selflessness
 Honesty
 Loyalty
 Equality and fairness
 Empathy and respect
 Self-respect

Personal ethics statement

A personal ethics statement is a written declaration of your closely held ethical

principles.

Personal ethics statements can be developed for several reasons, including:

College applications: Many colleges are asking for written personal ethics statements
from applicants to better understand the qualities and characteristics of prospective
students. These statements can help students stand out from the other applicants when
their personal ethics align with that of the university or college. Plus, many colleges
are making it a requirement in the application process so they can take a closer look at
behaviour and motivations.

Job applications: Some companies are also asking for personal ethics statements
because jobs are becoming more competitive. Personal ethics statements can be a part
of the process for any job, but it is most common for leadership positions. Companies
frequently look to improve and shape the quality of leadership within they have,
which results in asking candidates to detail their personal ethics and apply them to
their work and leadership potential.

Performance evaluations: Companies also ask for personal ethics statements at

performance reviews to deeply analyze employees’ actions and how they implement
the companies—and their own ethics while on the job. These statements can be very
telling since they show whether an employee understands the ethical implications of
their actions and are working toward better alignment with the company’s values.

Personal ethics are moral guidelines that can help you through tough situations and
make the best decisions. You are likely to use your personal ethics to develop your
career and handle many different workplace scenarios. You can develop a clear and
effective personal ethics statement that outlines the values you practice in professional
settings. In this article, we discuss what personal ethics is, describe how to write a
statement and provide a sample to help you craft your own.

Benefits of having a personal ethics statement

There are many benefits to having a personal ethics statement both for your career.
Defining your personal ethics makes it easier to talk about in a well-thought-out
manner, which may improve your performance in an interview. Personal ethics
statements also:

Help you understand your priorities. Having a clear understanding of what matters
most to you can assist you in advancing your career. Defining your personal ethics
statement can help you understand your priorities. If you prioritize putting other
people’s needs first, then you are more likely to be happy in a job where you help
people. If you prioritize doing a good job and being highly productive, then you may
make a good business leader. These differences in your priorities can help you
determine what type of job is best for you and what jobs you should avoid because of
conflicts with your personal ethics.

Make decisions easier. Alongside clarifying your priorities, having a personal ethics
statement can also make decisions easier. There are many situations where you will
need to decide on the right course of action. This is especially true if you lead a team
or are a high-level executive in your company. Having a list of criteria can make
weighing your options easier.
Improve goal setting. Once you know what you will and won’t focus on, you can use
your personal ethics statement to set goals for your development. You can identify
which values matter most to you and identify opportunities and future steps you
should pursue.

Refine your leadership style. Creating a personal ethics statement is an effective

way to help advance your career, especially when applying to a leadership position or
a position that requires a strong set of personal ethics. Knowing what you value and
what you stand for can help you decide on a leadership style that enables you to lead
teams to progress and success.
Resolution of Conflicts:

Conflict resolution skills are required for a wide range of positions across many job
sectors. This requirement is based around the fact that conflict tends to reduce
productivity and create a difficult work environment, leading to unwanted turnover in
staff and reduced morale.

Individuals who are able to resolve conflicts are often excellent mediators, rational,
and able to manage difficult personalities from a place of empathy.

Conflict resolution is the process by which two or more parties reach a peaceful
resolution to a dispute.

In the workplace, there can be a variety of types of conflict:

 Conflict may occur between co-workers, or between supervisors and

subordinates, or between service providers and their clients or customers.
 Conflict can also occur between groups, such as management and the labour
force, or between whole departments.

The Conflict Resolution Process

The resolution of conflicts in the workplace typically involves some or all of the
following processes:

 Recognition by the parties involved that a problem exists.

 Mutual agreement to address the issue and find some resolution.
 An effort to understand the perspective and concerns of the opposing
individual or group.
 Identifying changes in attitude, behaviour, and approaches to work by both
sides that will lessen negative feelings.
 Recognizing triggers to episodes of conflict.
 Interventions by third parties such as Human Resources representatives or
higher-level managers to mediate.
 Willingness by one or both parties to compromise.
 Agreement on a plan to address differences.
 Monitoring the impact of any agreements for change.
 Disciplining or terminating employees who resist efforts to defuse conflicts.

Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann developed five conflict resolution strategies that
people use to handle conflict, including avoiding, defeating, compromising,
accommodating, and collaborating.
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument:

The Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument is a model for handling conflict:

Here are the five conflict management styles according to Thomas, K.W., and R.H.
Kilmann:

1. Accommodating

This is when you cooperate to a high-degree, and it may be at your own expense, and
actually work against your own goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. This
approach is effective when the other party is the expert or has a better solution. It can
also be effective for preserving future relations with the other party.

2. Avoiding

This is when you simply avoid the issue. You aren’t helping the other party reach
their goals, and you aren’t assertively pursuing your own. This works when the issue
is trivial or when you have no chance of winning. It can also be effective when the
issue would be very costly. It’s also very effective when the atmosphere is
emotionally charged and you need to create some space. Sometimes issues will
resolve themselves, but “hope is not a strategy”, and, in general, avoiding is not a
good long-term strategy.

3. Collaborating

This is where you partner or pair up with the other party to achieve both of your
goals. This is how you break free of the “win-lose” paradigm and seek the “win-
win.” This can be effective for complex scenarios where you need to find a novel
solution. This can also mean re-framing the challenge to create a bigger space and
room for everybody’s ideas. The downside is that it requires a high-degree of trust
and reaching a consensus can require a lot of time and effort to get everybody on
board and to synthesize all the ideas.

4. Competing

This is the “win-lose” approach. You act in a very assertive way to achieve your
goals, without seeking to cooperate with the other party, and it may be at the expense
of the other party. his approach may be appropriate for emergencies when time is of
the essence, or when you need quick, decisive action, and people are aware of and
support the approach.

5. Compromising

This is the “lose-lose” scenario where neither party really achieves what they want.
This requires a moderate level of assertiveness and cooperation. It may be appropriate
for scenarios where you need a temporary solution, or where both sides have equally
important goals. The trap is to fall into compromising as an easy way out, when
collaborating would produce a better solution.
Question Bank:

2 Marks:

1. What is the meaning of PR skills?

2. What do you mean by Personal Ethics?
3. Mention any two Decision-Making skills.

5 Marks:

1. Write a Note on: Communication Skills in a Leader.

2. Explain the Skills for Public Relations Skills.
3. Write a note on: Decision-Making skills.

10 Marks:

1. Explain in detail about the different leadership skills.

Assignment:

1. Write down the leadership skills of any 5 Leaders from the business world that
you know about.