What professional leaders can learn from the 4 Cs of organizational behavior

Each individual person can benefit from the study of individual behavior and group dynamics within organizations. At some point, everyone will work within a group or team, whether as a student or professional. When it comes to organizational behavior, there is no difference between the players of the Los Angeles Lakers or the members of the Disney marketing team. Each of these organizations will have to overcome the same obstacles within their team. There are a myriad of areas included in organizational behavior, but there are a select few that turn out to be more imperative. Leaders within organizations need to study and understand these issues so that they can improve their team in every possible way. These themes include conflict, communication, culture, and control.

• Conflict: If a person has ever been part of a group, whether they know it or not, they have experienced conflict. What leaders can learn from the study of conflict is how to diagnose and resolve it. Sometimes diagnosing conflict is not an easy task because conflict can be healthy or harmful. To facilitate this task, leaders must develop trust within the group. A group of friends is more likely to feel comfortable arguing with each other than a group of acquaintances, right? Members can openly participate and define conflict when they trust each other. When it comes to conflict resolution, the two best ways to do it are by collaborating or compromising. The first technique a leader should try to resolve conflict is collaboration. Collaboration can be defined as having an in-depth discussion of the conflict and coming to a resolution that works for both parties. This technique will make all group members satisfied. If this doesn’t work, leaders should try to compromise. Through compromise, each party will have to give something up to reach a solution, but this method is not optimal because it may not improve the contentious relationship.

• Communication: As seen in the previous topic, good communication can make a team very successful. A team leader needs to communicate effectively. One of the best ways to communicate is to listen. Reflective listening, or listening intently and repeating the message, is possibly the best way to communicate. This type of listening will help the listener to understand the meaning of the communicator and allow them to solve problems. Recognizing nonverbal communication also goes hand in hand with reflective listening. Non-verbal communication makes up the majority of what people communicate with each other. If leaders can recognize the nonverbal expressions being conveyed to them, they will be able to better understand what the communicator is trying to communicate.

• Culture: Having an established culture within an organization or team is the best way to shape the behavior of team members. By creating team norms and values, team members will know exactly what is expected of them. These norms can be formal, informal, verbalized or written. As long as norms exist, they can be effective in influencing behavior. An established culture allows members to find their identity within a team. By finding its role, the team will increase its cohesion and will be able to work better as a unit.

• Control: Control is synonymous with power and influence. These are very important traits that leaders need when leading a team or group. If leaders have effective influence or power over their team, they are more likely to achieve their goals. Even if leaders have authority, it doesn’t mean they have power or influence. Obviously, everyone would prefer to be charismatic, loved and admired. When people don’t have the charisma or the charm, what are they supposed to do? There are many different kinds of power, but people will listen to leaders who are experts. If a person is completely knowledgeable about a subject, who can question him? The answer is nobody. Leaders can influence their members effectively by having the knowledge or skills they need.

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