The case study guide for "The Top is the Bottom" with Dr. Keith Grint, Oxford University, Oxford, England and Pam McNair, Ed Lee, Sohrab Vossoughi, Steve Hoffman and Don MacInnis as seen on Small Business School the series on PBS member stations.

The Case Study Guide

last update: May 2007

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listen more than speak

Ask Before You Tell

We all know how important communication is and we’ve read lots of books and articles on the topic. Here Dr. Grint explains to us the relationship between communication and leadership.

Topic for Discussion: How do leaders communicate effectively?

Answer: There are two types of communication: one-way (transmission) and two-way (exchange). If you want someone to undertake a new project for you, you could send an e-mail or a memo to your employee OR you could sit down with your employee, review the project, the employees role, and your expectations of the result.

WATCH TELEVISION THAT TEACHES

Key Ideas of this episode

1.		Ask Who Is In Charge
2.		Think Beyond Yourself
3.		Try A Heterarchy
4.		Solicit Honest Critiques
5.		Learn To Negotiate
6.		Ask Before You Tell
7.		Check Arrogance At The Door
8.		Put Systems In Place
9.		Manage And Lead

Which do you think would be more effective? It’s really the difference between talking to someone and talking with them. "Talking with" includes a dialogue.

Creativity flows, questions can be asked; points can be expanded upon and clarified. Sure, an e-mail would be quicker. But the value of this exchange greatly exceeds the cost of the time to have it and makes it much more likely that the overall project will be successful.

You think about it: How do you communicate with your employees? Could you take time to ask more questions? Have you ever tried to open every conversation with a question? Do you think you would learn more if you tried this?

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