COMPETENCY M

“Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for professional work including collaboration and presentations.”

Statement of Competency M

Communication is a fundamental aspect of society; no group or society can function without it. In fact, most people spend around 70% of their time performing the basic communication tasks of writing, reading, listening, and speaking (Langton & Robbins, 2007). But good communication isn’t an inherent ability, rather it is a skill that is developed over time and is affected by culture, education, and technology changes. Not surprisingly, poor communication is often the most cited source of interpersonal conflict (Langton & Robbins, 2007). As such, it is of great importance for library and information professionals to hone their communication skills both at an organizational (staff) and service level (users). Communication defined in basic terms is the “transfer and understanding of a message between two or more people” (Langton & Robbins, 2007, p. 186). Scholars who have studied the way that humans communicate observe that communication is a two-way process in which there are identifiable links and parts. The main components of the communication process model are: the message, the sender, the receiver, encoding, the channel, decoding and feedback.

The Communication Process

First, the message is the information that needs to be communicated by the sender. The receiver is the intended recipient of the information in the message. The purpose of encoding is to translate the internal thoughts of the sender into a code or language that the receiver of the message will be able to understand (Kreitner, 2007). Next, the sender must determine the appropriate channel, or the medium, through which the message will travel to the recipient. Selecting the best channel to deliver a message is a skill that must be honed through practice. One model used by managers in organizations to decide the best channel to deliver the message is the contingency, or media richness approach. Essentially, this model recognizes that different channel mediums have a varying capacity to convey information and promote learning (Kreitner, 2007). The media richness model ranks different message channels on a continuum ranging from “lean” to “rich.” Rich channels share three important characteristics: 1. they simultaneously provide multiple information cues, 2. they facilitate immediate feedback, and 3. they are personal in tone (Kreitner, 2007, p. 302). Generally, managers can determine the richness of the channel that is required by the message depending on whether it is a routine or non-routine in nature (Langton & Robbins, 2007). Routine messages are usually straightforward and unambiguous, therefore leaner and lower richness channels can be used. Non-routine messages can be complicated and have a higher chance of being misunderstood, so channels with a higher richness should be used. The chart below highlights different channels that can be used to deliver a message, and where they fall along the richness continuum (Langton & Robbins, 2007 p. 188):

The challenge of the sender of the message is to match the appropriate media richness to the situation (Kreitner, 2007). The next step in the process is decoding, which is done by the receiver after the message is obtained in order to understand it. The final link in the communication process is the feedback loop, which highlights the fact that communication is a two-way process. Feedback is required from the receiver to the sender in order to show whether or not understanding of the message has been achieved (Kreitner, 2007). In this last step of the process, it is also important for the sender to check for feedback from the receiver because if they fail to do so, the process is only one-way and therefore incomplete (Langton & Robbins, 2007).

Barriers to Communication

There are several factors that have been identified as barriers to communication. These barriers fall into four different groups: process, physical, semantic, and psychosocial (Kreitner, 2007). Because every step in the communication process is required for effective communication, blocked steps or malfunctions along the way can block the transfer of information and understanding. Issues related to the encoding, decoding, channel or feedback create process barriers. Physical barriers can be physical objects, the layout of a physical space, or distance, which block effective communication from occurring (Kreitner, 2007). Semantics is the study of the meaning of words; words can be problematic in communication because they can sometimes mean different things to different people. Age, education, and cultural background are all factors that can influence the definition of the words a person uses (Kreitner, 2007). Problems arising in communication from the inconstant nature of the meaning of words are considered semantic barriers. Lastly, psychosocial barriers are perhaps the most prevalent cause of blocked communication. This is because they are influenced by the diverse nature of people’s experiences, backgrounds, perceptions, values, biases, needs, and expectations (Kreitner, 2007). Sensitivity to the receiver’s needs and circumstances can help to overcome these barriers to the communication process.

Nonverbal aspects of communication can also affect how people understand each other. Nonverbal communication encompasses body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and physical distance (Langton & Robbins, 2007). For example, the facial expressions of a person can convey meaning, and maintaining eye contact can make a sender seem more competent and credible. It is important for the receiver to look for these nonverbal aspects of communication, because they can enhance meaning of a senders verbal words (Langton & Robbins, 2007). The interpretation of these nonverbal aspects of communication can be influences by the cultural aspects of senders and receivers. For example, individuals from some cultures may interpret direct eye contact as disrespectful. It is important to take such cultural aspects into consideration during the communication process.

Skills for Effective Communication

Robert Kreitner (2007) argues that there are three communication skills that should be developed by individuals in order to become better communicators: effective listening, effective writing, and running a meeting.

Listening is often a forgotten aspect of the communication process; it is defined as the ability to “understand, analyze, respect, and appropriately respond to the meaning of another person’s spoken and nonverbal messages" (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, p. 151). Listening takes place during two parts in the verbal communication process—first, when the receiver listens to decode and understand the message, and second, when the sender listens and decodes the subsequent feedback (Kreitner, 2007). Judi Brownell, a listening researcher, developed the HURIER listening model to present 6 different types of listening: Hearing, Understanding, Remembering, Interpreting, Evaluating, and Responding (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, p. 154). This model emphasizes the fact that listening is complex, and is skill that should be developed in order to facilitate effective communication.

Effective writing is a learned skill that requires regular practice. Writing is necessary in the encoding and feedback steps of the communication process, and if done well it can potentially avoid semantic and psychosocial barriers (Kreitner, 2007). Robert Kreitner (2007) provides the following four suggestions to increase the effectiveness of writing (p. 321):

Keep words simple. Simplifying the words you use will help reduce your thoughts to essentials; keep your readers from being ‘turned off’ by the complexity of your letter, memo, or report; and make it understandable.

Don’t sacrifice communication to the rules of composition. Most of us who were sensitized to the rules of grammar and composition in school never quite recovered from the process. As proof, we keep trying to make our writing conform to rigid rules and customs without regard to style or the ultimate purpose of the communication.

Write concisely. This means expressing your thoughts, opinions, and ideas in the least number of words consistent with effective composition and smoothness. But don’t confuse conciseness with mere brevity; otherwise, you may write briefly without being clear of complete.

Be specific. Vagueness is one of the most serious flaws in written communication because it destroys accuracy and clarity, leaving the reader to wonder about your meaning or intent.

Lastly, Kreitner (2007) argues that running meetings effectively is an important skill because meetings are a feature of every organizational setting. Despite the fact that meetings are a fixture in most educational and work environments, studies have shown that much of the time of meetings is wasted due to unclear objectives (Kreitner, 2007). Meetings are important because they are assembled for a variety of purposes including: to find facts, to solve problems, and to pass along information (Kreitner, 2007). Meetings are important parts of organizational communication, so running them effectively is crucial to organizational success in today’s workplaces. Kreitner (2007) offers the following tips for conducting meetings that are more effective (p. 322):

Meet for a specific purpose, not simply as a ritual.
Create an agenda and distribute it at least one day in advance.
Communicate expectations for attendees to help them come prepared with proper data and documentation.
Limit attendance to essential personnel.
Open the meeting with a brief overview of what has been accomplished and what lies ahead.
Deal with the most difficult/challenging agenda items quite early in the meeting while the energy level is still high.
Encourage broad participation, while sticking to the agenda.
Selectively use stimulating visual aids to make key points and, according to one expert, do not use more than three PowerPoint slides for every 10 minutes of presentation.
Make sure everyone understands what action items they are responsible for after the meeting.
Begin and end the meeting on time, and follow up as necessary.

Collaboration

Success in today’s world depends on the ability for individuals to work together in teams and groups. Library and information professionals will be expected to work in a variety of such groups in their organizations. In order to collaborate effectively, there are certain stages of the group process that much be worked through, and there are communication skills that must be developed. Langton and Robbins (2007) define groups and teams as comprised of “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (p. 151). Advantages of working in a team include: superior resources, member satisfaction, learning, cultural understanding, and creativity (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). Disadvantages of working in a group usually occur when members encounter communication issues; such disadvantages include requirement of more time, energy and resources, conflict, and people problems (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013).

Research into group development began in the early 1950s, and scholars have developed many theoretical models to describe the different stages that groups progress through (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). Perhaps the most prominently used theory of group development was identified by educational psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman. Tuckman’s Group Development Stages model lays out four distinct stages of a group’s life-cycle: forming, storming, norming, and performing. Mary Ann Jensen later added a fifth stage, adjourning, as the final stage in the model (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). The following figure provides a general overview of each of the stages of Tuckman’s Group Development Stages model (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, p. 28):

The first stage of team development is forming; this is when teams are first put together (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). At this stage, members explore both their personal goals as a team member, and the group’s overall goals and objectives. Generally, there is some social unease and stiffness between group members as they begin to learn more about each other. This unease is classified as primary tension; it can be resolved by members staying positive, being patient, and being prepared (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013).

The second stage of the process, storming, is generally when conflict and disagreements between group members arise. Sometimes individuals try to avoid this stage of the group process in order to avoid the hassles of conflict, but resolving these tensions is a necessary part of the process (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). It is important to acknowledge that there are two types of conflict, functional/constructive and dysfunctional/destructive (Langton & Robbins, 2007). Functional, or constructive, conflict is actually something that can be useful to groups because it helps to support the goals of the group and improve its performance (Langton & Robbins, 2007). On the flipside, groups should avoid dysfunctional, or destructive, conflict which can hinder group performance. Langton and Robbins (2007) provide the following techniques that can be used to manage and resolve conflict (p. 203):

Problem solving. Requesting a face-to-face meeting to identify the problem and resolve it through open discussion.

Developing superordinate goals. Creating a shared goal that requires both parties to work together, and motivates them to do so.

Smoothing. Playing down differences while emphasizing common interests with the other party.

Compromising. Agreeing with the other party that each will give up something of value to reach an accord.

Avoidance. Withdrawing from, or suppressing, the conflict.

At this stage the conflict and disagreements between group members is classified as secondary tension; this arises when group members become confident enough to become assertive and aggressive in their behavior (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). Groups in the first two stages of Tuckman’s Group Development Stages model will experience some type of primary and secondary tension—what characterizes a healthy group is not their avoidance of this social tension, but rather their successful management of it (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013).

If groups are able to manage the social tensions and conflict of the first two stages, they then enter the third stage of the group development process—norming. In this stage the group learns to work as a committed and unified team, and group members are able to accept each member’s idiosyncrasies. This stage is also known as the resolution stage because groups are able to cooperate, rather than compete with each other (Haycock, 2007). During the fourth stage, performing, members are fully engaged and are eager to work. At this stage there is no tension present in the group, and each member is aware of their individual roles and responsibilities to achieve the group’s objective (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013). The fifth and last stage of the group development process is adjourning. At this final stage groups have successfully met their common goals, and they may begin to disband (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013)

It is important to note that some teams do not reach the final stages of the group development process after storming, because they possess characteristics that create dysfunctional conflict. Such characteristics include: an absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results (Haycock, 2007). Additionally, in order for groups to be effective they should have a team leader. Research suggests that the role of the team leader is crucial in the group development process because through their pressure and support of team members, they are able to move the group through each of the five stages of the process (Haycock, 2007). Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins (2007) outline the following 12 characteristics that effective teams should possess (p. 158):

Clear purpose: The vision, mission, goal, or task of the team has been defined and is now accepted by everyone. There is an action plan.
Informality: The climate tends to be informal, comfortable, and relaxed. There are no obvious tensions or signs of boredom.
Participation: There is much discussion, and everyone is encouraged to participate.
Listening: The members use effective listening techniques such as questioning, paraphrasing, and summarizing to get out ideas.
Civilized disagreement: There is disagreement, but the team is comfortable with this and shows no signs of avoiding, smoothing over, or suppressing conflict.
Consensus decisions: For important decisions, the goal is substantial but not necessarily unanimous agreement through open discussion of everyone’s ideas, avoidance of formal voting, or easy compromises.
Open communication: Team members feel free to express their feelings on the tasks as well as on the group’s operation. There are few hidden agendas. Communication takes place outside meetings.
Clear rules and work assignments: There are clear expectations about the roles played by each team member. When action is taken, clear assignments are made, accepted, and carried out. Work is distributed among team members.
Shared leadership: While the team has a formal leader, leadership functions shift from time to time depending on the circumstances, the needs of the group, and the skills of the members. The formal leader models the appropriate behavior and helps establish positive norms.
External relations: The team spends time developing key outside relationships, mobilizing resources, and building credibility with important players in other parts of the organization.
Style diversity: The team has a broad spectrum of team-player types including members who emphasize attention to task, goal setting, focus on process, and questions about how the team is functioning.
Self-assessment: Periodically, the team stops to examine how well it is functioning and what may be interfering with its effectiveness.

Evidence

Evidence 1: LIBR-204- Howard County Library Strategic Plan, 2013-2016

This group paper was created for LIBR-204: Information Organizations and Management. I, along with three other classmates, created this strategic plan using the management, planning, and marketing techniques that we learned during our time in this course. The Howard County Library system, located in Maryland, was chosen because it was the place of employment of one of our group members, and we could ensure access to various documents (such as budget, circulation numbers, etc.) needed by the group. My role in the team was group leader, in which I had the responsibility of coordinating with all members to arrange for the best times for meetings, creating and maintaining a shared cloud folder that could accessed by all group members on Google Drive, editing the work of my group members, and assembling the individual parts worked on by each group member into one cohesive document for submission. I was also in charge of the historical background and environment scan sections of the planning document, in addition to brainstorming goals and strategies together with my group members.

This group project highlights the different stages of Tuckman’s Group Development Stages model. This project was the first group assignment that I completed as a SJSU iSchool student, and it was an important learning experience for me. My role as team leader was especially important to the different stages of the process, because we hit a few roadblocks which required conflict management techniques to resolve. For example, we had an issue arise where a group member was not contributing equally to the assignment. Establishment of clearer ground rules, and specific individual responsibilities was needed by the team in order to move through the storming stage, and on to the norming and performing stages of the group development process.

Because our team was virtual in nature, we had to use novel communication techniques in order to work together effectively. Each member of the group was located in a different geographical location in the country, meaning it was a challenge for us to schedule group meetings at a time that was convenient to everyone. We communicated frequently via e-mail, and had group meetings through Blackboard Collaborate every week to discuss progress with the project. Additionally, we shared findings, drafts of the different sections of our work, and other relevant documents with each other through our Google Drive folder. This is a screenshot of the content of our group folder:

The group folder allowed for us to connect with each other asynchronously, which was necessary for our virtual group. For example, we could share drafts of our individual work on the folder, and other group members could edit it for clarity. The following is a screenshot of such an example of one group member’s edit suggestions which were shared in a document accessible through our Google Drive folder:

Effective communication between group members was imperative because a main requirement for our final paper was for it to be a coherent and integrated whole, not a disjointed document. In order to do this, each member had use their individual strengths to contribute to the group’s collective goals. The group possessed several characteristics of an effective team including open communication, clear purpose, active listening, and clear rules and work assignments; these allowed us to produce our group strategic plan for the Howard Country Public Library. Working together in groups and teams will be a fixture of my future professional career, and the experience I gained as group leader for this team assignment has provided me with the requisite communication skills and techniques needed to succeed.

Evidence 2: LIBR-266- Collection Development Policy Manual and Group Process Presentation

This collection development policy manual and group process presentation was created for LIBR-266: Collection Management. This manual was produced by myself and two other classmates throughout the course of the semester. The policy manual was created for a fictitious public library (Roald Dahl Public Library), with a specific focus on children’s, young adult, and teen services. My role in the group was team leader, and required much responsibility and delegation of tasks in the creation of our collection development policy manual. My tasks as group leader included: creation and maintenance of a group folder on Google Drive, setting deadlines for individual group member work, coordinating and leading synchronous group meetings via Skype, copy-editing each group member’s individual contributions, and collating and formatting our final policy manual into a cohesive document.

The policy manual itself is representative of the individual work that group members completed to create a unified document. What was required of me as group leader was to set agendas for our weekly group meetings, the delegation of work roles and responsibilities to team members, and communicating our progress to our course instructor. For example, I created spreadsheets in our shared Google Drive folder for revisions of chapters, based on grading and comments by our professor. The spreadsheets clearly lay out what revisions are needed, where they are located in the chapter, and who is responsible for the change. Delegating revision work with the spreadsheets helped to keep the group organized, and these assignments made sure that responsibilities were evenly distributed between members. The following are screenshots of two of our revision spreadsheets (other group members’ names redacted):

What was required of me in role of team leader was the use of the principles of effective communication and writing. While we faced some barriers, such as physical distance between group members, our use of many communication techniques helped us overcome these problems. For example, since we could not have true face-to-face meetings, we used the web video-conferencing software, Skype, to video chat our group meetings. An important skill that I also developed as group leader was running more effective group meetings. I was responsible for creating the meeting agenda each week, providing an overview of what was covered the in the previous meeting, and beginning and ending meetings on time.

Lastly, as part of our assignment, our group was tasked with creating a recorded presentation about our collection development policy manual, and the process our group used to create it. We created a PowerPoint presentation and a script of these topics, and recorded our presentation using Blackboard Collaborate. In addition to discussing our fictitious library, we also covered topics such as our team process, division of labor, communication, problem resolution, and recommendations for future students of the course. My team split up the work of the presentation into three parts, so that everyone could be equally represented. My part of the presentation is specifically about our team process, and the ways we progressed through Tuckman’s Group Development Stages model. Working in teams is a skill that requires effective communication, writing, listening, and running of meetings. The best way to improve these skills is to practice and use them. I certainly have come a long way since my first group project as a student in SJSU’s iSchool in LIBR-204. This project highlights my improvement of many of these skills, which I used as a leader of my team to help us create a high quality collection development manual together. Working in teams is a reality of the profession of librarianship, and this project allowed me to further strengthen the skills necessary for that task.

Evidence 3: LIBR-294- Internship Final Report

This report was created for LIBR-294: Professional Experience: Internships. The purpose of the report was to expound upon my work and experiences during my time as a collection development intern at the Oakland Public Library. The report is organized into five different learning outcomes that I formulated prior to beginning work at my internship site; learning outcome four states: “Strengthen interpersonal communication skills in a professional library setting, and participate as an active and contributing member of a collection management department.”

My experiences at my internship site did, in fact, help me to strengthen my communication skills greatly. For example, active communication was required with my site supervisor during every internship work day. I checked in with her at the beginning of each day in order to receive new tasks and activities, and to update her on my progress with ongoing projects. In order to demonstrate what I had accomplished through many of the independent projects I worked on, I provided both verbal and written updates about my progress. For example, I e-mailed each draft of my IndieFlix evaluation document to my site supervisor as I was working on this task to keep her abreast of my advancement with the task.

In addition to developing rapport with my site supervisor through effective communication, I also had to do so with staff from other departments in the library. For example, I worked together with staff members of the Adult department during a reconsideration committee, I worked together with ILL staff to collect data, I attended and presented my work during meetings with members from the reference, teen, children’s, and adult departments, and I completed tasks for the children’s department. Additionally, because space is limited at the Oakland Public Library for staff offices, the area I worked in housed three different departments. Without effective communication, it would have been very difficult to share tight quarters with so many different employees. For example, one of the computers I usually worked at was shared by three different staff members, but used by each on different days. When schedules inevitably shifted, effective communication was needed between these staff and myself so that we could each complete the tasks we needed to get done. Each of these experiences required me to articulate myself both verbally, and through written communication.

Being in a professional library setting and completing the tasks of my internship helped me to practice and improve my communication skills greatly. This was a challenge for me personally, because I was unfamiliar with the library before I began my internship, and though I have worked in a public library for many years, it took a few weeks to get accustomed to the different organizational culture at my internship site library. Additionally, I have also been a shy person, and it always takes a bit of coaxing for me to come out of my shell. In a professional library environment I learned there isn’t much room for shyness, because open communication is crucial to getting things done. Tasks that I completed, such as presenting my IndieFlix evaluation report to a fairly large group of librarians from all departments of the library in a meeting, were invaluable experiences that helped me to put aside my personal fears in order to work in a more professional and communicative manner. Overall, working in a professional library setting as a collection development intern helped prepare me for the type of environment I will be working in during my career as a librarian by allowing me to strengthen my communication skills and techniques.

References

Engleberg, I.N., & Wynn, D. R. (2013). Working in groups: Communication principles and

strategies. New York, NY: Pearson Education.

Haycock, K. (2007). Working in teams. Retrieved from

http://ischool.sjsu.edu/courses/203/teams/haycock_transcript.doc

Kreitner, R. (2007). Management (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publishing Company.

Langton, N., & Robbins, S. P. (2007). Fundamentals of organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New

York, NY: Pearson Education.

Evidence Files

Click to download the following files:

LIBR-204 Howard County Library Strategic Plan 2013-2016