Running Head: LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION – LIFE EXPERIENCE
Leadership and Communication – Life Experience
Edric Vanderstorm
ORG300 – Applying Leadership Principles
Colorado State University – Global Campus
Michelle Olmstead
March 25th, 2016
Running Head: LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION – LIFE EXPERIENCE
Leadership and Communication – Life Experience
Effective leaders understand the importance of strong communication skills. It is imperative for
employees to understand the vision of the department or the company, and how they are
accountable to the goals, which must be communicated by leadership. It is equally important
that leaders ensure the accuracy of the communication they are providing. Leaders must also
take into account how their employees receive information and the quality of the message they
are sending. In this essay I will share my experiences of ineffective or infrequent communication
from my Director whose first name is Scott. I will analyze how poor communication can be
viewed negatively and, finally, I will recommend how leadership can strengthen their
communication skills.
Personal Experience in Leadership
Scott is located in the Chicago, IL office and I am located in Providence, RI. We are
separated by geography and a time zone, which unfortunately affects our communication with
one another. We often communicate asynchronously through e-mail, and occasionally through
Office Communicator (Microsoft instant messaging tool). We have scheduled monthly one on
ones but unfortunately our meetings are often cancelled due to competing priorities. Although I
am clear about what my goals are and what my job entails, I want to make sure I meet with him
to ensure things are going as they should. I sometimes find myself frustrated, due to his lack of
communication. There have been times that he assumes I know something when I do not. He
sometimes holds information or deals with situations by avoiding the topic altogether.
Sometimes he over communicates about things he would be better off keeping to himself until
the time is appropriate to share the information and the due diligence has been done.
Running Head: LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION – LIFE EXPERIENCE
In September 2014, Scott reached out to me and said that he will be adding a few more
