Communicative potential of mid-level managers

Abstract

Introduction. The study utilizes communicative approach to management, which emphasizes communicative potential of the leader as an important factor of effective business. Communicative potential is understood as a compound of empathy, affiliation tendency and sensitivity to rejection among mid-level managers. Materials and methods. Communicative potential was measured with set of tools by A. Mehrabian. Study sample included 84 mid-level managers from industrial and trade organizations. All respondents have higher education and are involved in management activities over 5 to 12 subordinates. Respondents were 34 female and 50 male, aged 24 to 45. Management experience of respondents varied from 2 to 5 years. Data analysis methods included descriptive methods and comparison of means.Results. The study revealed insufficient level of communicative potential of mid-level managers compared to successful managers. Comparison of genders and work experience showed that sensitivity to rejection is higher among female managers, and also drops down with experience for both men and women. Empathy is also lower for those who are more experienced.Discussion and Conclusions. Communicative potential of mid-level managers needs to be developed through special communication training. The trends revealed I the study can provide the targets for training programs.

Keywords

• communicative potential
• empathy
• affiliation tendency
• sensitivity to rejection
• mid-level managers