PART FOUR
SHARING LEADERSHIP
THROUGH TRANSACTIONAL PROCESSES
We have emphasized in previous parts that messages about task processes, individuals, and the
team are carried through transactional processes. And these depend on communication. Part
CHAPTER 9
VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION:
BUILDING TRANSACTIONAL PROCESSES
This chapter develops ways in which language choices enable team members to negotiate mutual
meanings with supportive, appropriate dialogue. It also develops the importance and
characteristics of nonverbal communication in team transactions.
Chapter Outline
Negotiating Team Meanings
From Dialectic to Dialogue
From Seeing Stereotypes to Seeing People
Identifying Communication Styles
Using Dialogical Styles
Sensitivity
Assertiveness
Responsible Language
Confirmation
Appropriateness
Appropriateness to Teammates
Communicating Nonverbally
How Nonverbal Cues Work
Decoding Nonverbal Messages More Accurately
Building Leadership Abilities in Nonverbal Communication
Facilitating Teammates’ Contributions
Facilitating Turn-Taking
Making Space
Equalizing Influence
Touching
Summary
Exercises
Discussion Suggestions For Boxes
No “Pat” Answer
Obviously, the point of this trainer’s example is that touching is cultural, and of course, it is. Yet
we’ve learned from personal experience and observation that Chinese people, at least, touch
frequently and demonstrate affection easily in their own culture. So the generalization isn’t
always true.
You might ask students to examine when, in their own experience, being patted on the back is
repugnant as opposed to when they interpret the same action as positive.
• Does it have anything to do with the situation and the roles or gender or culture of the
people involved?
Debriefing Suggestions For Case Analysis 9.1
You could point out to students that consultants often are hired to help a company make the
transition from its original nature as a small, family business into a large, complex organization.
Frequently the problem lies with the founders’ expectations and approach; you’ll find the CEO in
the trenches, micromanaging, and yearning for the same personal relationship with 300
employees as she or he had with the first ten.
Talking Points:
• Why would the language be so important?
• Why would replacing the term “family” with the terms “teamwork,” “respect,” and
“support” change the image and culture to one that people would like better?
Suggestions For Guiding Chapter Exercises
Exercise 1: Assertiveness Assessment
This exercise is fine for journal exercises but can also work well for team building.
• Ask individuals to complete the Assertiveness Assessment form for themselves.
Exercise 2: Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Observations
This approach is good for team-building; for practice in creating assessment instruments; and for
reinforcing concepts learned in the chapter.
• Have teams refine their methods and then present them to the class.
• Ask the class to comment on the proposed methods. What do they think will work?
What do they think would not work? How can the instrument be used to help a team to
improve its communication and create a supportive climate?
• Discuss the ways in which information from such observation can be used to make
teamwork better.
Exercise 3: Observation of Talk Show Dynamics
Although a television discussion group occasionally demonstrates good group communication,
many manifest verbal and nonverbal behavior that breaks all the rules; people are often rude,
they interrupt one another, they make absolute statements (often without support), and they
frequently use sarcasm and nonverbal regulators to stop others from speaking.
Talking Points for Observations:
• How did the environment and context of the discussion affect the participants’ goals and
communication styles?
Exercise 4: Building Sensitivity to Non-Verbal Language
This is appropriate for a journal exercise, for teams, or for ad hoc groups. If you want to use it in
teams, have students discuss their lists. Then ask them to help each other find ways to manage
both team communication and individual responses.
Talking Points:
• How can members of both genders, and varied cultures, learn to understand and protect
the sensitivities of one another?
• How can non-verbal language be codified in a way in which all parties understand clearly
what sort of non-verbal cues can be misunderstood in a negative way?
• Did you have a surprising experience in a foreign situation involving non-verbal language
or manors in which you unintentionally offended your hosts?
• Did a foreign guest (or someone from another gender or cultural sub-group) ever offend
you in an unintentional way?
Exercise 5
Set up a group of three or four people to compare online communication to face-to-face
communication. You don’t even need a chat room; just exchange e-mail addresses.
Most students today are accustomed to using e-mail, and they already know that it relies on
abbreviated, frequently careless messages.
Procedure:
• Have students note during the first task, choosing a topic, whether they had to be more
specific in sharing their analysis but would truncate the more social aspects of face-to–
face discussion.
Additional Exercises
EXERCISE 1: GENDER PERCEPTION
Objective
To demonstrate how language structures perceptions
Time
About 20 minutes
Materials
Short story (below); instruction sheets; paper and pencils
Procedure
1. Read students the short story, “The President meets Godzilla.”
3. Read the instructions.
5. Have groups report the names they gave the characters.
6. Debrief the exercise.
Preparation of Materials
1. The short story (you may read this to students or give them copies).
The President Meets Godzilla
In the affairs of men, when communication breaks down, men must build bridges across the
chasm. The President of the U.S. took the finest manpower available—three outstanding cabinet
officers—and flew to Japan, to establish better communication by talking man-to-man about the
issues. There, the President and three cabinet officers met with the Prime Minister and three
2. Instructions to the groups
You’ll notice that the characters in the story—except for Godzilla—have no names. Your job is
to give them names. Just make up whatever names seem appropriate to these characters. They
include the President of the U.S., the Prime Minister of Japan, and three officials for each
country.
Debriefing
1. Admit this is a silly story, but ask students to pretend it’s really serious for a moment.
2. Ask students to note the answer to this question on a scrap of paper: To what extent do you
feel you might be a part of a high-level summit meeting like that in the early part of the story?
4. On the board, write the names in two columns. Do not label the columns, but divide them as
you write between female and male names.
6. Ask students why they thought of male names. If you look at the story, you’ll see that no
7. Now ask students which ones felt that he or she could be a part of such a summit. Mark the
gender of those who felt they could be part, and those who felt they could not be a part.
9. Times are changing, and women in your class may pick up the language immediately.
10. If you want to go further, have students rewrite the story, using “womankind,” “all women,”
11. Ask how they can use this information in their own language—how they can avoid language
that excludes some groups or focuses on others.
EXERCISE 2: ASSERTIVENESS SKITS
Objectives
1. To experience assertiveness vs. aggressiveness.
2. To practice observation and analysis of assertiveness vs. aggressiveness.
Time
One hour
Materials
Paper and pencils
Procedure
2. Tell the teams they are to design a skit in which they demonstrate assertiveness, passivity,
passive-aggressiveness, and aggressiveness.
4. Have teams present their skits.
Debriefing
After each skit, ask the class to identify when and how each of the behaviors took place. Then
ask them to analyze in what way those behaviors seemed to affect the climate and processes of
the group in the skit.
Case Study 1: The Athletic Program Advisory Board Meeting
The advisory board for athletics at State U is meeting to resolve whether or not to vote funds for
new equipment for the women’s softball team. The meeting includes:
Sam Snowden, an attorney in the local community
Sean McLean, a soccer coach at a local high school
Some of the meeting goes like this:
Ron: So, guys—Marybeth, here, thinks she needs new equipment this year.
Sean: Jeez, Marybeth, you think you have it tough. The high school froze all our funds
this year…
Ron: C’mon, Marybeth, don’t be so sensitive.
Larry: Wait a minute, here, Marybeth has a point. She’s coaching a team and she needs
equipment. I’ve heard you guys complain plenty when you need things. What do
you need, Marybeth?
Marybeth: Let me show you my inventory here. You can see that we haven’t gotten any new
equipment for three years. Here’s what we have available—it isn’t much. And
here’s what I estimate we need for the coming year.
Tony: That’s pretty persuasive, if you ask me. Your team’s been doing well, hasn’t it?
Questions
1. What do you notice about the transactional processes as the dialogue develops?
2. Where and in what ways do you see assertiveness? Aggressiveness? How do confirmation
or disconfirmation enter in?
Debriefing Suggestions for Case Study
The transactional processes put Marybeth on the defensive, making it an us-against-them
meeting. Consequently, the task processes—deciding about Marybeth’s request for funding—get
lost in personal tension. But she’s able to be assertive and she draws confirmation and support
Case Study/Role Play 2: Nonverbal Messages
Objective
To demonstrate the difficulty of giving and interpreting clear nonverbal communication.
Time
45 Minutes
Materials
2. Observers’ Instructions
4. Role Players’ Instructions
6. Role Players’ Name Tags
Procedure
2. Ask four people to role-play this case study.
4. Give each role player his or her role and name tag.
6. Have the role-players play out the situation.
8. Debrief.
Preparation of Materials
1. Situation Description
The Executive Board of International Travel, Inc., is meeting to decide which of them will go on
2. Instructions for Observers
3. Form 9.1 for observers
4. Instructions for Role Players
5. Role Descriptions
The Boss You are the founder of the company, you’ve done an enormous amount of traveling,
and you’re sick of it. Furthermore, you have a sick child at home. And the last time you left for
a week, the office was a disaster. The V.P. certainly can’t handle the office. You don’t want to
go on this trip. You think any of the other three would be fine.
6. Name Tags
Prepare name tags for each player:
The Boss
Debriefing
This kind of role play is hilarious; people resort to very broad ways of communicating their
feelings.
1. Note that although the actions are broad, they do reflect the ways in which people
communicate nonverbally.
2. Ask observers to note what they saw.
Additional Resources
Print Resources
Battenfield, Frederick L., and Kent, Aubrey. (Feb 11, 2007). The culture of communication
among intercollegiate sport information professionals.(Author abstract). International Journal of
Sports Management and Marketing, 2.3 p236.
Bosmajian, H. (1983). The language of oppression. Lanham, MD: University Press of
America.
Gifford, R., & Gallagher, T. M. B. (1985). Sociability: Personality, social context, and physical
setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1015-1023.
Hall, J. A. (1984). Nonverbal sex differences: Communication accuracy and expressive style.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Knapp, M. & Hall, J. (1997). Nonverbal communication in human interaction (3rd. Ed.). Austin,
TX: Harcourt Brace.
Schwartz, B., Tesser, A., & Powell, E. (1982). Dominance cues in nonverbal behavior. Social
Psychology Quarterly, 45(2), 114-120.
Thorne, Paul. (Winter 2005). The secret codes of the ‘silent language’: beyond words, much of
our communication takes place in ways we are scarcely aware of. It all happens in the limbic
system of the brain that predates human speech. Understanding these non-verbal clues can be
Media Resources
Communicating nondefensively. Carlsbad, CA: CRM Films.
Communication: Getting in touch. Carlsbad, CA: CRM Films. 13 min.
Communication: The nonverbal agenda (rev. ed.). Carlsbad, CA: CRM Films. 20 min.
Invisible rules: Men, women, and teams. Carlsbad, CA: CRM Films. 34 min.
Seinfeld: Language and meaning. CNN Human Communication (vol. 4). Atlanta, GA:
Crawford (avail. from Wadsworth Pub. Co.)
Verbal communication: The power of words. Carlsbad, CA: CRM Films. 30 min.