Ian Dube an Effective Leader and Mentor

Ian Dube an Effective Leader and Mentor

Sonya Patterson

     LDR-645 Cross-Cultural Communication

March 25, 2015

A Case for Student Communication in Online Classes

In this paper, effective leadership communication will be explained. My choice of an effective leader in my community is my mentor and close friend Ian Dube. Ian has been with AT&T for 22 years and is a network engineer. His job requires him to support the global frame relay and private line networks, which are the infrastructures of telecommunications world-wide. To demonstrate Ian as an effective communicator and leader in his community at AT&T, I would suggest and say that his leadership ability speaks for itself. Since my tenure at AT&T, Ian has moved him from my Sales Team Leader in 1999 to the CEO of Oval TV  all while continuing to give his time and efforts to his successful coaching career at Georgia State University. Ian demonstrates commitment to leadership while inspiring greatness in young men and women on a corporate level. Ian is also the president of the Georgia Association Hall of Fame, known now as US Association of Track and Field (USATF). Ian is known for saying this simple phrase “run, jump, coach.”

Leaders can achieve success with a mixture of vision of the future and the way to get there. A leader with a straightforward communicational approach who works with the team makes for effective teamwork, and with showing that as their leader-they value the people who work for them.” ("Effective leadership communication skills," 2015)

When I met Ian on October 4, 1999, he stopped by one of the training class I was in to personally meet and welcome me to the AT&T family. After the meet and welcoming, he spoke to the entire training class about leadership, expectations and accountability. I was familiar with what he spoke about because I had heard those same words before from my father. At that moment, I knew then that he was the right leader for me. I respect a straight forward and honest manager. Ian’s vision for OUR team was clear, and he asked us every day, “What do you need from me to help you to be successful. I am here to help you grow and succeed.”

Ian has encouraged his team of people pursue degrees and retraining of company certification through AT&T’s university. Many of our teammates have received their A+ certifications with his advising, coaching and persuasion. He would always refer to us as HIS team and say “it was OUR numbers not YOUR numbers” when he referred to our daily sales numbers. I felt the team spirit and the family comradery that was built because of that spirit. He spent time with us and expressed a sincere interest in our career growth and development at AT&T. Ian always had appropriate and timely information on company changes and how we should implement them. He praised, recognized and rewarded us constantly. I loved to hear him bragging about our team “The Dominators” and taunting the other Team Leaders. He made the work environment fun, rewarding and inviting.

              Ian beliefs as a leader in the community has grown the success of the track and field for the entire state of Georgia. Leaders make a difference. “Dube initially paraphrased the baseball movie Field of Dreams; “If you build it they will come” he would say. He would also say that we have a plethora of accomplished athletes coming from Georgia. This has become one of the things we are very proud of. Over the last couple of years tons and tons of people have shown support. As an organization to maximize our coverage we have to make stars out of our stars.” ("Ian Dube - Georgia State Athletics," 2009)

The ability that is acquired and/or know to get it. There are a few so great to the extent they can be practically actually use when and as needed. The best communicators are great listeners, aware and clever in their observations. Great communicators are good at sizing up the people/group by being in tuned to their moods, changing aspects, demeanors, ethics and concerns of those whom which you are speaking to. Great communicators understand their surroundings well, but they can have that special “know how” to use their talents to acclimate their vision to their surroundings with precision and finesse. It is all about the people the message is conveyed to.

Leadership communication can be well-organized by the ability to diverge an impression of a positive role, or more specifically, a positive ethos, inside an organization and outside. To understand ethos, it helps to look back at the original definitions found in the writing of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle characterized three types of persuasive points: logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos is a demand established on the perceptive of a dispute, while pathos is a demand created on the traditional emotions. Ethos is a demand created based on the perception of the character of the sender of the message. Can this person be trusted, are they confident, do they appear believable and knowledgeable of the subject matter. If the listener does not trust or believe the speaker or the writer then their thoughts and opinions will have minimal effective on persuasion of the listeners.’ (Bies, 2012)