Communication is the most effective way for an organization to perform its mandates to achieve its goals. For the last few decades, communication has gained attention due to advancements in technology and new communication methods. Human relations can only be understood where there is effective communication in any given organization. One of the institutions that have seen an improvement in communication is the military organization. Military organization requires the means to pass messages or information from the top management to perform their operations in an orderly manner. For the past years, the communication model that has been in use is the transactional model (Gonzales, 2016). A transactional model of communication is whereby leaders give orders, and this model of communication does not offer growth within the organization. Employees under this communication model are not provided with a chance to express their concerns.
According to Bogami (2016), most companies are suffering from ineffective means of communication. In a military organization, most leaders will assume that their followers understand the message in its full context. The lack of not making communication leadership function hinders the growth of a company. Leadership is meant to transform the entire organization into an environment that supports innovations and talents. Where a leader does not involve his employees, then the company fails. Therefore, this paper seeks to address the problems a military organization faces due to poor communication and summarize the more effective communication theory.
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Like any other organization in the world, the military has challenges when it comes to effective communication. A message goes through various stages before getting to the receiver. At these stages, both internal and external factors may hamper communication transmission (Weaver, 2016). Inconsistency is one of the factors that hinder the proper channel of communication. When a leader gives different messages to different people, there lacks a consistent message delivery. These mistakes are irritating to the employees as they fail to get the initial message.
Most leaders fear upsetting or angering their employees, thus giving mixed information. The reason for the inconsistency of communication is the lack of failing to make communication a leadership function. Leadership and effective communication are intertwined at the organizational level. Most military operations fail to succeed due to a lack of involving effective communication in the top leadership. Gonzales (2016) argues that giving orders alone does not guarantee a successful mission. Under the transactional means of communication, most leaders are after getting the assignment complete. In transactional communication, the task is getting the results whereby the best performer gets more respect from the leader. Transactional communication does not give a leader the chance to listen to the employees—a military organization experiences such cases. For instance, a leader will fail to listen to other individuals by confirming that their final instructions.
Transformational Theory Summary
Scholars identified a communication theory that offers everyone in the organization a chance to express themselves to help solve this communication problem. Transformational communication is a theory that seeks to empower employees by establishing an emotional connection. According to Cohrs et al. (2019), emotional connection is understanding the person and acting in their favor. Military organizations are adapting to the use of transformational communication. Leaders using transformational communication are those that put their needs aside and work to improve an organization. They involve other staff in decision-making to allow each individual to make their contributions. Rather than achieve basic needs such as the need for love, most individuals gain self-actualization and personal achievement.
Transformational communication helps the recipients to feel a sense of appreciation and a part of the organization. When a commander uses the transformational model to communicate in the military organization, they receive cooperation from subordinates. Commanders can set a compelling vision that motivates individuals. According to weaver (2016), having a defined vision as commander and showing the way without giving commands puts your members in a position to follow your instructions. As a commander using the transformational communication theory, you can energize and empower your teams. Through a transformational approach in the military organization, commanders and team members share common values and purpose that defines the organization. With a common goal, a commander sends a clear message that has meaning to each individual.
The transformational model allows a message to get to the receiver, and then the receiver can give their feedback according to their understanding of the information. Leaders must have an ideal influence that teaches them to practice what they preach. Most employees will follow what a leader does without considering the consequences. If a leader advocates specific behavior be observed and does not follow, team members cannot listen to their leaders. Leaders should have actions that are aligned with the future success of the company. This behavior helps the team members to support the company's vision without objection.
According to Gonzales (2016), transformational communication theory helps the organization bring out creativity and innovation within its members. Leaders are empowered with skills that identify individuals with creativity and uses their power to transform them. In the military organization, the commanders provide necessary resources that aids in empowering individuals. They provide information that defines what role individuals with creativity can perform. Military organizations under transformational communication possess a personal intellect trait. Having an intelligent personality helps commanders to inspire the teams. Their communication behavior is persuasive that seeks to relinquish personal desires for the organization.
Transformational communication is a unique communication method since followers receive informative and inspirational messages to work on a vision. This model features an individual consideration that helps leaders monitor their team members and correct them when making a mistake. According to weaver (2016), persuasive and informative communication is necessary for individuals and the company to have an innovative thinking method. To integrate new ideas into the company, employees need inspiration and empowerment to believe they can accomplish. The military organization's success can be achieved when a commander shows the methods to defeat an enemy.
According to Gonzales (2016), transformational leadership aids in employee's agreement that enables leaders to build team identity. Using transformational communication in the military organization helps the team members to feel associated and satisfied with their missions. With transformational communication, leaders can monitor their teams to assess their performance. When commanders follow up with their team's success in training and assignments in a military organization, it motivates individuals to perform better. The leader's communication in such cases should be based on showing individuals what to do rather than commanding. Commanding instills fear among individuals, thus decreasing their performance level.
Effective Leadership styles of communication influence performance and job satisfaction within an organization. Most team members prefer following what their leader teaches and practices. Inclusivity also helps when passing a message to the team members. A leader must be able to include every individual while discussing the progress of an organization. When a leader uses inclusivity as part of their effective communication, they help build a united team that shares common values. United team members can share information with top management that includes their concerns to be addressed.
With a transformational communication theory, the military organization achieves its mission when working as a team in various missions. A commander listens keenly to their followers and considers their information before making a decision. The commander can ask for a meeting where each individual will be given a chance to communicate their plan. Individuals with creativity are required to use knowledge to offer a more comprehensive solution. Leaders need to first understand their team members before communicating any messages, and understanding the team members’ aids in formulating messages that are clear and concise to each individual. Each message a leader gives must have a meaning that is common to every individual.
In the military organization, when leaders formulate original ideas, team members can increase their performance level. Transformational communication enables leaders to have an authentic message rather than giving a message that has been overused in time and maybe boring to comprehend. The organization should train future military leaders to be innovative thinkers to promote motivation among the employees. Leaders in the military organization should practice active listening to promote transparency in the organization. Transparency in an organization is whereby leaders communicate every detail and plan to their team members. Having clarity enables leaders to have open-ended questions. A leader can ask questions such as, define the concepts and what the team member is trying to mean. With this kind of communication, every piece of information becomes apparent to each team member. Hamad (2015) argues that leaders who take a firm stand are likely to get identified by their followers. These are leaders with clear communication objectives and who act as role models.
According to Hamad (2015), scholars were able to identify leaders who used the theory of transformational communication. Individuals such as Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos are exceptional leaders who have used the transformational communication model (Hamad, 2015). They are considered as individuals who practice what they preach. In their organization, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos have used practical methods to communicate with their employees. They are individuals who have been able to mobilize and energize their teams to produce excellent work. Weaver (2016) argues that transformational communication is more effective than other communication models since scholars can theoretically prove its results.
According to weaver (2016), several processes can transfer vision from a leader to a follower by the organization. He suggests that employee's values can be elevated to recognize the importance of the team. Weaver also recommends boosting the employee's confidence to maximize their contribution to the organization. Leaders boost confidence in employees when they can establish a deep connection between employees. After developing a relationship with employees, a leader can develop a close two-way communication and direct communication from a leader. The military organization can therefore achieve maximum effort in missions after invoking direct communication among team members.
A military organization's communication problems can be resolved using a transformational theory of communication. The transactional model of communication is based on giving orders that make the employees feel lowly. It does not offer the potential growth companies' vision and goals since creativity and innovation are not nurtured. Therefore, most organizations have resorted to using the transformational theory of communication to solve the problem. Under the transformational approach, team members feel as being part of the organization. Using this communication model, leaders can use open body language that shows how leaders carry themselves, therefore duplicating the team members' behavior. Companies need to embrace a transformational model of communication to maximize the growth of companies. Military organizations embrace this mode is having an excellent performance in their mission by defeating their enemies. Effective communication also helps in retaining employees.
References
Al-Bogami, H. M. Z. (2015). The relationship between transformational management and communication skills among heads of departments of KAU. Procedia Computer Science , 65 , 1160-1164.
Cohrs, C., Bormann, K. C., Diebig, M., Millhoff, C., Pachocki, K., & Rowold, J. (2019). Transformational leadership and communication. Leadership & Organization Development Journal .
Gonzales, J. (2016). Leadership styles in military settings and their influences on program satisfaction.
Hamad, Hamad. (2015). Transformational Leadership Theory: Why Military Leaders are More Charismatic and Transformational? International Journal on Leadership. 3. 1-8. 10.21863/ijl/2015.3.1.001.
Weaver, B. (2016). The Transformational Leadership Communication of Socially Close and Distant Leaders on Vision Integration.
