Leadership and Communication: Concepts, Contexts, and Tools

Preface
Contents
List of Figures
Part ICommunication in Leadership-Processes
1 Communication and Leadership
	Aims of this Chapter
	Everyday Leadership Communication
	Case Letter: Ignorance Seems to Be Institutionalized
	Communication—Conflict and Interpretation
	Case Letter: Being Illiterate Is Not the Same as Not Being Able to Read
	Information and Messages
	Case Letter: We Change Our Opinion When We Get New Information
	Hope Is a Waking Dream
	Exercises
	References
2 Communication and Metaphors
	Aims of this Chapter
	Metaphors
	Exercises
	References
3 Requisite Variety
	Aims in this Chapter
	When You Don’t Greet a Colleague, You Objectify Him or Her
	Case Letter: Guinea Fowl Logic
	Waving People Away as Though They Were Flies
	The Difference that Makes the Difference
	Exercises
	References
4 Where We Draw the Boundaries of a Problem Affects Our Perception of the Problem
	Aims of this Chapter
	Contexts Create Meaning
	Case Letter: Patterns
	Relevant Relationships
	Case Letter: Setting Boundaries
	Setting the Boundaries of a Problem Is No Trivial Matter
	Boundary Problem
	Case Letter: What Is Our Goal?
	Exercises
	References
5 The Context Sends Messages
	Aims of this Chapter
	The Context Influences the Action
	Case Letter: The Context Guides Behaviour
	The Context Constitutes the Psychological Framework
	Case Letter: Facts have a Greater Impact than the Truth
	If the Soup You Are Served Tastes Bad, Complain to the Cookbook Publisher
	Case Letter: Integrative Solutions
	When the Realities Change, I Change My Opinion
	Case Letter: Names Mean Something
	Concepts Have Consequences
	The Purpose of an Action Is Not Always Apparent Before the Action
	Case Letter: Agree on the Objective
	The Consequences of Structuring Win–Win Situations
	Methods for Developing Win–Win Situations
	Expectation of a Cause Comes Before the Cause
	Case letter: It Is Crucial Which Reference Point We Choose
	Prospect Theory
	Exercises
	References
6 Part and Whole in a Communicative Process
	Aims of this Chapter
	Systemic
	Case Letter: the Tight Rope Walker
	If You Want Stability, You Should Focus on Change
		Patterns and Systemic Thinking
		When the Effect Becomes the Cause
		When You Do the Opposite of What Is Expected, the Relationship Changes
	Case Letter: We are in the Business of Conceptual Constructions
	Actions We Take in Order to Avoid Specific Results Often Produce What We Wanted to Avoid
	Looking Towards the Future with Optimism Because It Is an Echo from the Past
	Exercises
	References
7 ‘Aspect Seeing’
	Aims of this Chapter
	Objective Reality Is Always Subjectively Interpreted
	What We Know Depends on Whom We Got to Know It from
	Exercises
	References
8 Information Processes as Part of Communication
	Aims of this Chapter
	The Smaller the Unit of Measurement Used to Measure a Coastline, the Longer the Coastline Becomes
	The Interpretation Is Different from What Is Interpreted
	What Is the Similarity Between a Fish and the Word ‘Fish’?
	American Presidents: Lingo, Bingo, Dingo
	Exercises
	References
9 Information Processes
	Aims of this Chapter
	What We Seek to Achieve Is Different from Why We Seek to Achieve It
	Case Letter: Information and Memory
	Thoughts Are Different from What We Are Thinking About
	Writing to Find Out What One Is Thinking
	Exercises
	References
10 Communication Strategies
	Aims in this Chapter
	It’s What You Are Best at That Will Be Your Downfall
	The Boundary of Culture Is Consistent with the Boundary of Communication
	Irritation Can Lead to Better Communication
	Creativity Involves Closing the Door to Memory
	Case Letter: Madness Is a State of Disconnection from Everything Other Than the Rational
	Create a Boundary, Then You Will Get Walled in
	Filling a Space with Nothing
	It Is Never Too Late to Have an Unhappy Childhood
	Seven Influencing Techniques in Communication Situations
	There Can Be No Order Without Disorder
	Exercises
	References
11 Influencing Techniques
	Aims of this Chapter
	Without Differences, Nothing can be Created
	Linking Information in New Ways Can Generate Creativity
	Case Letter: A Letter Home
	Case Letter: Creating Reciprocity
	Case Letter: Obligation
	Case Letter: Familiarity
	Case Letter: Obedience
	Case Letter: People Value What Is Scarce or Has Limited Availability
	Creativity Is Based on the Generation of Differences
	What Is the Difference Between Information and Misinformation?
	Exercises
	References
12 Alternative Communication Strategies
	Aims of this Chapter
	A Mink Does Not Gain More Freedom by Being Moved to a Bigger Cage
	We Perceive the World Backwards
	Numbers Are Different from Words, But They Become Words When They Are Spoken
	Case Letter: Change of Attitude
	Information’s Cognitive Value
	There Is a Difference Between a Description and What it Describes
	Exercises
	References
13 The Pragmatics of Communication
	Aims of this Chapter
	A Person Who Describes Something, Ignores Something Else
	Our Description of Something Will Always Be Different from the Thing We Describe
	Our Social Reality Differs from How We Describe It
	Case Letter: Illiteracy
	Who Constructs Social Reality?
	Exercises
	Reference
14 Communication and Trust
	Aims of this Chapter
	Predetermined Is Not the Same Thing as Predictable
	The Authentic Meeting
		What We Know Is Different from What Is Facts
	Invention Is Not the Same as Discovery
	Exercises
	References
15 Communication and Values
	Aims of this Chapter
	Mastery Is Not the Same as Understanding
	Being Bigger Than Is Not the Same as Being the Thing That Is Bigger
	The Difference Between Order and Disorder Is the Amount of Freedom We Give Them
	Borders Are Always Where Differences Can Be Seen
	Exercises
	Reference
16 The Effect of Being Positive
	Aims of this Chapter
	Local Links Generate Collective Behaviours
	Case Letter: Changing Our Reaction to the Behaviour of Others
	The Future Determines the Present
	Case Letter: The Expectation of a Price Increase Leads to a Price Increase
	An Unfamiliar System Will Be Described as Chaotic by the Ignorant
	When We See that Something Is Happening, Then It Has Already Happened
	Exercises
	References
17 Communication and Punctuation
	Aims in This Chapter
	A Circle Becomes a Straight Line When Viewed on a Very Small Scale
	Breaking Patterns Creates Change
	Sociological Laws Arise When We Distinguish Between Intention and Behaviour
	Exercises
	References
Part IIPersonal Communication Tools
18 Personal Strategies
	Aims in this Chapter
	Tools for Communication
	Self-Management
	Reference
19 Communication and Personal Change Skills
	Aims of this Chapter
	Feedback and Flexibility as a Basis for Change
	To Give Feedback
	To Receive Feedback
	Integrating Feedback into Behaviour
	Intention and Communication as a Basis for Change
	Behaviour Pattern as a Basis for Change
	Our Mental Models
	Our Mental State
	Our Relationships with Others
		Exercises
	Personal Communication Coaching Tools: Perspective Analysis
		Exercise
	Reference
20 Communication and Personal Achievements
	Aims of this Chapter
	Assumptions
	Development of Top Performance
		Exercises
	Personal Communication Coaching Tools: Future Images
		Exercise
21 Personal Communication Benchmarking
	Aims of this Chapter
	Diffusion of Competence
	Levels of Personal Communication Benchmarking
	The Phases of Personal Communication Benchmarking
		Exercises
	Personal Communication Coaching Tools: Mirroring
		Exercise
22 Personal Motivational Strategy for Communication
	Aims of this Chapter
	Motivational Strategy
		Our Values
		Our Action Strategies
		Exercises
	Personal Communication Coaching Tools: Consensus
		Exercise
23 Personal Communication Mastery
	Aims of this Chapter
	Prerequisites for Personal Communication Mastery
	Focus Areas for Personal Communication Mastery
	Method for Personal Communication Mastery
		Exercises
	Personal Coaching Tools in Communication: Involvement-Distancing
		Exercise
24 Personal Communication Identity
	Aims of this Chapter
	How We Present Ourselves to Others
		What You Are Trying to Show to Others
		What You Do Not Want to Show to Others
		What the Other Thinks About You
		Personal Communication Identity (PCI)
		Exercises
	Personal Communication Coaching Tools: Creative Strategy
		Exercise
	References
25 Explanation of Concepts
	References
Index