The purpose of this research was to develop some outstanding aspects of organizational communication and leadership in mixed companies in the oil sector. Likewise, it is pointed out that to support the established approaches, the bibliographic references of various authors such as John C. Maxwell (2007), Anthony D Sousa (1998), among others, were used. The methodology used for the study was documentary and qualitative, considering hermeneutics for content analysis. It is concluded that leaders must also achieve that the function of communication be replaced in its proper place as a tool of business strategies, as well as the strategic management of communication.
INTRODUCTION
To speak of leadership is to refer to a controversial concept, the practice of which has been the subject of many social investigations, ranging from the profile of leaders who have developed and adapted throughout history, to the identification of the elements or circumstances that they generate and maintain at the forefront of social groups.
In modern society, who can best be described as desiring someone to lead her, today's leader is bound to be a constant agent of change. For their part, organizations demand a new generation of managers, capable of challenging processes, inspiring a shared vision, raising spirits and positively channeling nonconformity, as well as training others for action.
The leader faces the daily challenge of developing skills to drive change while influencing his direction, direction, and breadth. Some have succeeded, others have simply let it pass, and others now take the place. Leaders are pioneers by nature, they dare to go out of the conventional and look for new ways of doing things. This practice is carried out through two commitments: the search for opportunities and decision-making. ”(Aguado, Ricardo Jiménez: Processes of leadership, 1998).
However, before effective leadership can be exercised, the leader must learn to self-direct. That is, build the ability to direct your own advancement. The true leader is the one who begins to educate himself and perfect himself in the practice of human virtues. With his example, he will be setting the tone for others to seek to develop and perform in an integral way.
As a primary aspect, the leader of any social group must be committed to the challenge of increasing the value or importance of their own organization. In this context, there are countless definitions of leadership, in which there is a common denominator, influencing the behavior of others, person or group of people.
In general, leadership is the process by which an individual systematically exercises more influence than others in the development of group functions. It is not, therefore, occasional or sporadic influences, nor influences linked to the exercise of a specific group task. It is a permanent influence, which has a collective reference, since it is directed at a relatively large number of people and for a considerable time.
A leader needs to effectively develop a communication process in the organization. Communication is important to achieve an efficient exercise of leadership and consequently help the cultural change in the organization. Communication is an essential element for the life of organizations. It is essential to the company and essential for its proper functioning, since it plays a role of primary importance in creating, maintaining and changing corporate culture and identity.
Organizational communication, that is, the symbolic exchange between two or more people within the organization as such, must be underpinned with a great effort of creative and accurate management of human relations. Leaders must also ensure that the function of communication is repositioned in its proper place as a tool of business strategies, so that with the strategic management of communication, entrepreneurs and managers when faced with the question of luxury or necessity, will have no doubt to answer the second option. However, this will only be possible if the person in charge of communication manages to have influence at the managerial level and if he knows how to listen to the internal client. Without a doubt, if an organizational communicator does not have leadership, he cannot be a communicator in an organization.
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND ITS IMPORTANCE WITHIN MODERN OIL ORGANIZATIONS
One of the biggest problems that Oil Organizations present today is the lack of leadership and talented people for personnel management.
The leadership process is based on the ability of an individual to exercise more power of conviction and influence than others, and at the same time, his reason for being is based on the people who follow and trust that individual, that is, A leader must be strong enough to convince others and make them follow him.
On the other hand, effective leadership can be defined as the process by which a leader effectively convinces other individuals through the process of communication and interpersonal relationships.
“Some people are endowed with a natural talent for leadership, show great ease in dealing with others, manage to motivate their colleagues and subordinates, and never seem to demand too much of them. Unfortunately, these people do not abound. " (Anthony D Sousa: Discover Your Leadership, 1998).
The leader must have sufficient capacity to guide and control his subordinates in certain situations, with the sole purpose of obtaining greater and better results for the organization. This person becomes a role model for their good leadership practices.
One of the greatest virtues that leaders must have today is the ability to know yourself, self-educate and self-direct, in this way it will be much easier for you to know and understand your environment and in turn achieve everything you want to achieve.
A leader is not one who simply enjoys a good job, one who has more social status or one who has more academic degrees, it is one who over time has shown how to do things differently, obtaining great results within the organization.
He is that person who breaks paradigms and is capable of leaving the conventional when any situation requires it.
To achieve effective leadership, two things are fundamentally needed:
- A basic knowledge of the behavior of groups of people, human relationships and management techniques. Study the application of these techniques.
“In a sense, leadership means sensitivity to the needs of people who work under his authority, it also includes awareness of his responsibility to those who are above him. Leadership is placed right in the middle, and the efficient leader is capable of satisfying both sides. ” (Anthony D Sousa: Success in Leadership, 1998).
In the 21st century all kinds of practices have been transformed within an organization and with it the ability and skills that its leaders must possess to control all these situations of change. A leader cannot be methodical by nature, he must be a person who is prepared to face all those changes that society has in store for him, that is, he must be an agent of change in his organization.
Today's leader needs to handle different types of functions that facilitate their interaction with the environment and in turn lead their organization to a successful destination. You must plan and organize change strategies that lead all of your subordinates to work towards this common goal.
According to John C. Maxwell, (2007), “The credibility of a leader begins with personal success, and ends when he helps others achieve theirs. In the same way, he says that leaders become better leaders when they experience a definitive moment and respond to it correctly. ”
Leadership is service, in the sense that it tries to satisfy the needs of the other person or the group through the performance of the necessary functions. Sometimes efficient leadership must translate into a great leadership force, as happens when the group loses its sense of direction or purpose.
There are several characteristics that leaders must have, among them are: Being innovative, creative with openness to change, decision-making capacity, analytical, humble, responsible, progressive, flexible, planned, rational, among others. It is all these aspects and values that make this individual obtain the maximum results and alternatives within the organization.
In Figure No.1, the Effective Leadership Behavior is shown, where the way in which leaders exercise their power is observed, which in turn influences both the productivity of the group and the freedom of subordinates. If leaders use less authority and power, group members gain more freedom in the decision-making process. When, on the contrary, they use greater power, the freedom of the group diminishes. This scheme relates the different types of behavior of the leaders with the balance of power between them and the members of the group.
“The essential qualities and techniques involved in leadership can be learned and developed through education and experience. People can learn to communicate clearly, to make effective decisions, to motivate and inspire, to maintain and show respect for subordinates and to trust them, to be fair in their judgments, to instruct others clearly, and to be patient with the mistakes they make, to be loyal to subordinates and to know how to defend them when necessary, to be humble and open to new ideas and different opinions, keeping a sense of humor and knowing how to control tension ”. (James Gill: Educating for leadership, 1983).
“To lead effectively, pure knowledge is not enough, confidence in oneself and in others is necessary, as well as integrity and sincerity, knowledge and understanding, decision, concern for others, communication, kindness, good example and courage. " (Anthony D Sousa: Effective Leadership, 1998).
GUIDELINES TO ACHIEVE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN OIL SECTOR COMPANIES
“Every company, as an organism open to the influences of its environment, exchanges information with its stakeholders: it receives, interprets (processes) and issues information. In a literal sense, we can say that the company maintains a constant dialogue with its environment, in which we can distinguish four basic aspects or the roles it plays ”(Jennings, 1991):
- Formulation of essential communications. Development of strategic communications. Management of dissemination mechanisms. Reception and processing of information.
Essential communications are those that give the company identity as a singular entity, with its own personality and sense of purpose. Commonly, these communications consist of the mission, vision, objectives and responsibilities of the company before its stakeholders. On some occasions, they cover the same organizational architecture of the company (internal structure and key businesses), communicate the position of the firm in the broad context of the market and in front of its competitors (strategic positioning), and outline the guidelines of its leadership to promote initiative, creativity and innovative learning in all its collaborators.
For its part, the development of strategic communications consists of the concrete realization of the business strategy on all its fronts. It consists of making effective use of the different media and mechanisms for information dissemination, capitalizing on all opportunities to send positive messages about the company to stakeholders.
The most important messages in which strategic communications are carried out include: business objectives and goals, investment plans and programs, economic and financial results, technological innovations, human resources development programs, etc. And among the means to send them are: annual reports, internal bulletins, training and staff development programs, radio and television conferences and interviews, relations with the mass media (press, radio, television and video), promotional campaigns, special events, fairs, exhibitions, community relations, etc.
Of course, these messages must be supported by specific actions by leaders, as they support essential communications.
In its role as spokesperson, the company must make effective use of the different dissemination mechanisms. Let us remember that the public is literally bombarded by messages that are often disagreeing or in conflict, and that it also maintains its freedom at all times to listen or not what we send it. Then, we must be able to select those mechanisms that best suit our purposes and guarantee us the best results in terms of impact. For this reason, in the communication function, the company must have specialized personnel, experts in the field, creative enough to make its messages attractive and impressive. The communicator function does not accept improvisations.
As can be seen in Figure 2, communication is a strategic matter that must be planned together with the business strategy of the business, since in many ways it involves the entire organization, compromises the future of the business in the long term and, well managed, it can be a source of competitive advantage.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN MIXED BUSINESSES IN THE OIL SECTOR
In the leadership role, it must be emphasized that its efficiency depends on how the leader knows how to carry out the communication processes with its members, transmitting his vision and that concretion in his mission and in more concrete objectives, both individually as well as at the organization level, taking into account its culture, values and philosophy.
The communication process in modern oil organizations has a central role, mainly in the field of internal communication, since it facilitates relationships and commitments between the individuals and groups in the organization. All this is carried out with a certain logic and permanence, according to certain needs and pursuing patterns of interpersonal relationship.
Implicitly or tacitly, organizations seek, at least, that the candidates for leaders cover seven basic qualities: technical capacity; social intelligence or ability to motivate; understand and lead people; experiences in directing people towards objectives or projects, paths already traveled; knowing when to act, when to do nothing, and when to do everything, or when only part of it, which also implies the ability to decide who is the right person to lean on; judgment, and finally character. Already in daily work, the loss of technical capacity does not always translate into lack of leadership, and aspects of judgment and character are decisive. However, the responsibility assumed by the leader to educate others becomes increasingly relevant,which sometimes obscures other qualities.
This is because learning to be a leader is virtually the same process that leads to making someone integrated. This means that when it comes to developing leaders inevitably, it is referring to inner growth and individual transformation, so that to form leaders, you first have to form people, for which teachers, coaches or trainers are needed, and what better that it is the leaders themselves who are responsible for the formation of more leaders.
To be a leader-forming leader, the first requirement is knowing how to listen and be able to find true people beyond appearances. For his part, the apprentice leader must have the ambition or the conviction of wanting to become a true leader. Just as you learn to swim by swimming. You also learn to be a leader by leading; But it is not the only way to learn, there are also other sources of learning, individual teaching and that derived from the organizational or social environment.
However, a leader without values is an empty leader, who sooner or later will cease to be one, his permanence is closely related to the ends he pursues, with the values that sustain him, in his capacity to, in turn, form leaders.; that their followers do not become dependent or addicted to their leadership, and that they themselves become leaders. Thus the leader eventually becomes a leader of leaders.
In this context, the leader's most valuable source of learning is in direct feedback, and in asking others to evaluate their performance, or seeking advice or opinion. These are not signs of weakness, on the contrary, they are elements that strengthen the leader and his leadership. Do not forget that what is good for the person will also be good for the leader, because learning to be an effective leader is no different from learning to be a successful person.
Communication is essential for teamwork. A leader must maintain efficient communication of her mission, objectives, results, and rewards. For team chemistry to work there must be a certain mix of capabilities.
A leader needs to be a good communicator, because communication is the cornerstone of any organization determined to meet its objectives effectively. Communication plays a role of primary importance in creating, maintaining and changing the culture and corporate identity of the organization. Without communication there can be no organization.
A good leader is also a great organizational communicator. He makes a great effort of creative management of human relations, so that with this exchange the organizational objectives are met. He should not only make good communication within the organization, but also good communication abroad. This primary communication circle, and there the leader should not fail.
A leader, as a communicator, maintains a very strong bond between line and management personnel, that is, he carries out two-way communication. What is more important is that if a communicator does not have leadership, he cannot be a communicator in the company.
The communicating leader is one who knows how to dialogue in times of crisis. He knows how to communicate to get answers, to find solutions to problems that arise. It should be noted how a leader knows how to efficiently carry out communication processes with all members of the organization. Thus, it manages to meet the objectives it sets itself.
Communication - leadership or leadership - communication, two roles that are of central importance within the organization. If this exists, it needs both: communication to survive, leadership to compete.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Within the set of activities, the new managers of the oil sector must not only set their eyes on finance, production, human resources and marketing; They must visualize organizational communication as a form of convergence, evaluation and relationship of elementary activities, since it goes beyond the allocation of budgets, wages and salaries, physical spaces; it is above all, to link work in each area and with each area strategically.
It is essential to understand that the organizational management and communication binomial that are articulated as strategic vectors of great value within any organization, especially modern oil organizations, considering their possibilities as well as the axes of interdependence where they look for points of convergence or divergence within the substantial activities carried out in the company, to improve quality, efficiency and productivity.
Reality is being built from a set of selections and classifications that individuals make. In this process it is essentially based on two important tools, one is thought and the other is language. So, within the oil organizations, these elements must be correctly articulated to achieve the organizational objectives.
The world and the reality that is perceived depends on the perception capacity of the perceiver, in such a way that different worlds and realities can be perceived. Therefore, a management of the oil sector cannot guarantee that its perception is the only one, nor the best, nor the true one, it can only give arguments as to why it was perceived this way and not otherwise.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
- ÁLVAREZ RODRÍGUEZ JESÚS At http://www.monografias.com/trabajos28/complejidad-economia/complejidad-economia3.shtml. Date: October 2005 Category: Administration ANTHONY D SOUSA, (1997). DISCOVER YOUR LEADERSHIP. Spain. Editorial Sal Terrae. ANTHONY D SOUSA, (1998). SUCCESS IN LEADERSHIP. Spain. Editorial Sal Terrae. ANTHONY D SOUSA, (1998). EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP. Spain. Editorial Sal Terrae.JOHN C. MAXWELL, (2007). LEADERSHIP, GOLDEN PRINCIPLES. United States of America. Grupo Nelson.AGUADO, RICARDO JIMENEZ. LEADERSHIP PROCESSES. (1998) JENNINGS, MARIE AND DAVID CHURCHILL, (1991): HOW TO MANAGE CORPORATE COMMUNICATION? Colombia; Editorial Fund Legis, business series.PALACIOS MALDONADO M, (2000). OIL COMPANIES AND THEIR COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES. Milestones of Administrative Economic Sciences.VASQUEZ JAVIER, (2008).ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
