VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY– HCMC INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT

Leadership
Lecturer: Mai Khương Ngọc

Group 01
No. Name Student ID
1 Hoàng Nhật Minh IEIEIU21111
2 Đào Quang Dũng IEIEIU21057
3 Trịnh Gia Bách IEIEIU21053

Chapter 6: Communication, Coaching, and Conflict

Skills
Leadership success is based on interpersonal skills, and the focus of this chapter is on three
important interrelated parts of interpersonal skills. They are communication, coaching and conflict
skills.

I. Communication
Communication is the process of conveying information and meaning. True communication
takes place only when all parties understand the message (information) from the same
perspective (meaning).

Communication and Leadership

Leaders use communication to influencing others, so leaders need to have good

communication skills. Formal authority affects communication and, ultimately, performance.
Information processing is so important that organizations are designed as a means to meet the
information processing requirements generated by interdependent activities.
Communicating is a social process, and the trend is to use networking and social media. Two
important parts of communication remain: sending and receiving messages.

Sending Messages and Giving Instructions

 Planning the Message
Before sending a message, we should plan it, remembering that brevity rules. With the receivers in
mind, plan how you will convey the message so that it will be understood.

The Oral Message-Sending Process

Oral face-to-face communication is the richest channel because it allows for a maximum amount of
information to be transmitted through dialogue between the parties.
● Step 1: Develop rapport. It is usually appropriate to begin communications with small talk
correlated to the message
● Step 2: State your communication objective.
● Step 3: Transmit your message
● Step 4: Check the receiver’s understanding
● Step 5: Get a commitment and follow up

Written Communication and Writing Tips

● Lack of organization is a major writing problem. Before you begin writing, set an objective
for your communication. Make an outline, using letters and/or numbers, of the major points
you want to get across.
● Write to communicate, not to impress. Keep the message short and simple. Limit each
paragraph to a single topic and an average of 5 sentences.
● Edit your work and rewrite where necessary.

Receiving Messages
The second communication process that leaders are involved in is receiving messages, which includes
listening and responding to messages. Responding effectively improves communications.

The Message-Receiving Process

The message-receiving process includes listening, analyzing, and checking understanding. To
improve your listening skills, spend one week focusing your attention on listening by concentrating
on what other people say and the nonverbal communications they send when they speak.

Listening
Listening is the process of giving the speaker your undivided attention. As the speaker sends the
message, you should listen by:
● Paying attention
● Avoiding distractions
● Staying tuned in
● Not assuming and interrupting
 ● Watching nonverbal cues
● Asking questions
● Conveying meaning

Analyzing
Analyzing is the process of thinking about, decoding, and evaluating the message. As the speaker
sends the message, we should analyze the following:
● Thinking. Listen actively by organizing, summarizing, reviewing, interpreting, and critiquing
often.
● Waiting to evaluate until after listening

Checking Understanding
Checking understanding is the process of giving feedback.
● Paraphrasing
● Watching nonverbal cues
II. Feedback
In this section, we discuss the importance of feedback, the common approaches to getting feedback
(and why they don’t work), and how to get feedback.

The Importance of Feedback

Communications influence behavior, as feedback motivates employees to achieve high levels of
performance. Feedbacks is the process of verifying messages and determining if objectives are being
met.

The Role of Feedback in Verifying Messages

The best way to make sure communication has taken place is to get feedback from the receiver of the
message through questioning and paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is the process of having the receiver
restate the message in his or her own words.

The Role of Feedback in Meeting Objectives

Leaders set objective for the desired level of performance. Thus, leaders should set specific
measurable objectives and monitor the process through ongoing feedback to increase motivation
toward goal accomplishment.

The Need to Be Open to Feedback - Criticism

If we are asking for personal feedback, remember that we are asking to hear things that may surprise,
upset, or insult us, and even hurt our feelings. If we become defensive and emotional - and it is tough
not to when we feel attacked - feedback will stop.
We do not really enjoy being criticized by our manager, peers, or others, even when it is constructive,
because it tends to be painful. But keep the phrase “no pain, no gain” in mind when it comes to
criticism. When criticized, whether you asked for it or not, stay calm (even when the other person is
emotional), don’t get defensive, and don’t blame others.
Common Approaches to Getting Feedback on Messages - and Why They
Don’t Work
The first common approach is to send the entire message and then assume that the message has been
conveyed with mutual understanding without getting any feedback. The second approach is to give
the entire message and ask “Do you have any questions?”. Asking questions, especially if no one else
does, is often considered an admission of not paying attention or not being bright enough to
understand.
The most common cause of messages not resulting in communication is the lack of getting feedback
that ensures mutual understanding.

How to Get Feedback on Messages

● Be open to feedback. When someone asks a question, we need to be responsive, patiently
answer questions, and explain things clearly.
● Be aware of nonverbal communication. For example, if you are explaining a task to Larry
and he has a puzzled look on his face, he is probably confused but may not be to say so. In
such a case, you should stop and clarifying things before going on.
● Ask questions. Ask questions to check understanding, rather than simply asking “Do you
have any questions?”.
● Use paraphrasing. The most accurate indicator of understanding is paraphrasing. How well
we ask the receiver to paraphrase will affect attitudes.

360-Degree Multi-Rater Feedback

III. Coaching:
- Coaching is the process of giving motivational feedback to maintain and improve performance.
As a mean of improving performance, organizations are training their managers to be coaches, and
this trend is expected to continue because coaching boosts performance.

- In this coaching section, we are going to discuss about the way to give coaching feedback, the
criticism definition and the affection of it, the coaching model for employees and mentoring who are
perfoming below standard.

1. How to give coaching feedback:

+ The manager should also be looking for steady performance and continual improvement. Here is the
guildline that will help us to be effective coaches

· Develop a supportive working relationship:

Research has shown that the important contributor to employee success and retention is
their relationship with their manager. A supportive working relationship can build
enthusiasm and commitment to continual performance improvement.

· Give Praise and recognition:

Recognition motivates employees to maintain and increase performance.

· Avoid blame and embarrassment:

Any leadership behavior that focuses on making the person feed bad does not help to
develop the employee. Some things are best not said. Effective leaders treat mistakes as
learning experiences.

· Focus on behavior not the person:

The purpose of coaching is to achieve desirable behavior, not to belittle the person.

· Have employees access their own performance:

The example in textbook: Situation. The employee has been making more errors lately.
Criticism – you haven’t been working up par lately; get on the ball. Self – evaluation –
How would you assess the number of errors you have been making this week?

· Give specific and description feedback:

Specific feedback is needed to avoid confusion over which particular behavior needs to
be improved.

Descriptive feedback can be based on facts or inferences. Facts can be observed and
proven; inferences cannot. Give factual rather than inferential feedback, because factual
feedback tends to be positive, while inferential feedback tends to be more negative
criticism.

· Give coaching feedback:

It is important to respond positively to negative behavior and outcomes, and the way to do
this is not by pointing out mistakes but by selling the benefits of positive behavior.

· Provide modeling and training:

The job instructional training steps (JIT) include:

● Step 1: Trainee receives preparation: Put the trainee at ease as you create interest in
the job and encourage questions. Explain the quantity and quality requirements and
why they are important.
● Step 2: Trainer presents the tasks: Perform the task yourself at a slow pace,
explaining each step several times. Once the trainee seems to have the steps
memorized, have the the trainee explain each step as you slowly perform the task
again. For complex tasks with multiple steps, it is helpful to write them out and give a
copy to the trainee.
● Step 3: Trainee performs the task: Have the trainee perform the task at a slow pace,
while explaining each step to the trainer. Correct any errors and be patiently willing
to help the trainee perform any difficult steps. Continue until the trainee is proficient
at performing the task.
 ● Step 4: Trainer follows up: Tell the trainee who to ask for help with any question and
problems. Gradually leave the trainee alone. Begin by checking quality and quantity
frequently, and decrease checks based on the trainee’s skill level. Observe the trainee
performing the task, and be sure to correct any errors or faulty work procedures
before they become a habit. As you follow up, be sure to be patient and encouraging.
Praise a good error, at first, and good performance as skills develop.

· Make feedback timely, but flexible:

Feedback should be given as soon as after the behavior has been observed. The flexibility
part comes into play when you don’t have time to do the full coaching job, and when
emotions are high.

2. What is criticism and why doesn’t it work?

- Criticism is judgmental and makes people feel like losers.

· Demotivating:

The employees with overly critical managers tend to develop a negative attitude. They
avoid contacting with the manager and they feed stress just seeing the manager
approaching them.

· The difference between criticism and coaching feedback:

Coaching feedback is based on good, supportive relationship; it is specific and

descriptive; and it is not judgmental criticism.

3. The coaching model for employees who are performing below standard:
· Attribution theory:

Attribution theory is used to explain the process managers go through in determining the
reasons for effective or ineffective performance and deciding what to do about it.

· Determining the cause of poor performance and corrective coaching action:

The performance formula explains performance as a function of ability, motivation, and

resources.

· Improving performance with the coach model:

There are 4 main steps:

+ Step 1: Describe current performance.

+ Step 2: Describe desired performance.

+ Step 3: Get a commitment to the change.

+ Step 4: Follow up.

4. Coaching:
- Mentoring is a form of coaching in which a more-experienced manager helps a less-experienced
employee. Thus, the ten tips for coaching apply to mentoring. However, mentoring includes more
than coaching, and it is more involved and personal than coaching. The formal mentor is usually at a
higher level of management. The primary responsibility is to coach the employee by providing good,
sound career advice and to help develop leadership skills necessary for a successful manager career.

1. Managing Conflict: Dũng

2. Collaborating Conflict Management Style Models: Dũng

Here are detailed summaries of the key points in each section of the PDF:

IV. Managing Conflict

- Conflict arises when the psychological contract is broken - when implicit expectations in a
relationship are not met. This happens when expectations are not made explicit or people assume
others have the same expectations.

- Conflict can be dysfunctional if it prevents achieving goals, or functional if it supports change and
objectives. How conflict is managed determines its impact.

There are 5 conflict management styles based on concern for self vs others:

● Avoiding - Ignores the conflict. Unassertive and uncooperative. Maintains relationships

short-term but problems worsen long-term. Appropriate when issue is trivial, stakes are low,
relationships are very important, no time to resolve, or emotions are high.
● Accommodating - Resolves by passive giving in, neglecting own needs. Unassertive but
cooperative. Maintains relationships short-term but can lead to being taken advantage of long-
term. Appropriate when maintaining relationship is much more critical than the issue.
● Forcing - Uses aggressive behavior to get own way. Uncooperative and aggressive. Leads to
hostility and resentment. Appropriate for unpopular actions, when commitment of others not
needed, relationships not important, or urgent situations.
● Negotiating - Involves give-and-take concessions. Moderate assertiveness and cooperation.
Maintains relationships but can lead to suboptimal solutions. Appropriate when issues are
complex with no clear solution.
● Collaborating - Works jointly for optimal solution agreeable to all. Assertive and
cooperative. Takes effort but best long-term solution. Appropriate for important issues
requiring optimal solution, when relationships are important.

When initiating conflict resolution, use a planned BCF statement focused on the problem, not
blaming. Present it, agree on conflict, brainstorm resolutions, and make an agreement for change.

When responding, listen and paraphrase the conflict, agree on some aspect, brainstorm resolutions,
and make an agreement.

As a mediator, have each party explain their view, agree on the conflict, brainstorm solutions, make
an agreement, and follow up.
V. Collaborating Conflict

- Collaboration involves open communication to fully understand all perspectives and find a mutually
optimal solution.

- Requires active listening, reframing statements, aiming for win-win satisfying core interests of all
parties. Explore creative alternatives for mutual gain.

- Builds trust and strengthens relationships long-term. Helps prevent future conflicts.

- May involve tactics like separating people from the problem, focusing on interests over positions,
inventing options for mutual gain, and insisting on objective criteria.