Critical Thinking: The Soul of Communication

How do I see communication and critical thinking impacting my future role as a leader in the workplace?

I can envision that communication and critical thinking will have a great impact in my future role as a leader in the workplace.

According to the article, in a 2008 whitepaper by IDC, poor communication has led to organizations in the UK and USA to lose an estimated US$37 billion! Poor communication has resulted in a lower shareholder return. Research by Towers Watson has shown that organisations with highly effective communication skills see a 47 percent higher total returns to shareholders compared with firms that are the least effective at communicating.

However, it is not sufficient to possess good communication skills alone. Communication skills can be enhanced with critical thinking. Critical thinking is the driver of an effective communication.

A leader will have increased confidence in communication with critical thinking as communication is easier when leaders are prepared with information. Communication and critical thinking are connected as possessing the ability to problem-solve and consider other perspectives tend to be better communicators.

I believe possessing both skills are a win-win situation for the organization and a leader. It benefits a leader to connect effectively with the team and for an organization, it will translate to a higher shareholder returns.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Formal Letter (Descriptive Reflection)

Dear Professor Blackstone, My name is Mohamad Zulfadli, and I am a student from T5 in your Effective Communication module. I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services). The purpose of this letter is to provide a descriptive reflection of myself.   I have graduated with a Diploma in Mechatronics from Temasek Polytechnic. After that achievement, I was enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces to serve my National Service.  After serving the nation, I have attained a Specialist Diploma in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Engineering from Nanyang Polytechnic in parallel with working as an Assistant Quality Engineer. After my stint as an Assistant Quality Engineer, I have worked as an Assistant Technical Support Engineer. My passion for learning engineering comes from my uncle as he has constantly shared with me his exciting projects while working as a Civil Engineer. In addition, a show called “Mythbusters” has further p...
Read more

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR ENGINEERS

"Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter." Gilbert Amelio, former President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp Effective leadership requires a leader that has excellent communication skills and can connect with the team members. It is essential to possess excellent communication skills as it inspires positivity towards the team members. A leader can inspire positive change and align with the team by imparting knowledge and ideas. Poor communication skills may lead to misinterpreted information and lowered employee productivity and morale.
Read more

Critical Reflection

  Module Learning The initial goals that I have set myself at the beginning of the module are to improve my public speaking skills and my critical thinking skills. The first step that has improved my public speaking skills is the opportunity given to speak in every session of the module. Professor Blackstone will be calling each student once to read a portion of the instructional units. Hence, this has allowed me to be more comfortable and confident when facing an audience. In addition, impromptu presentation in class has further solidified my improvement in public speaking skills. The module has introduced me to many resources such as “Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Tips” for example. There was one impromptu exercise where the students must read up on different sections of “Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Tips” and had to present the key takeaways to a breakout room. This exercise has allowed me to understand the importance of presenting key points. This exercise can be applied at work...
Read more