Global Resources and Leadership Development in ESP: Teach a Man to Fish!

Hello ESPers worldwide!  I am sure that many of you have heard the famous quote that goes something like, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

In the field of leadership communication, Gail T. Fairhurst has created a way to “teach a man to fish.” Many of you may already know the title of her book: The Power of Framing: Creating the Language of Leadership (2011, Jossey-Bass).

If you are involved in training leaders, you might find this textbook to be a powerful resource.  As Fairhurst writes, “A better way to view communication is to emphasize the way it creates a shared reality”  (p. xiv).  She adds that the book is intended to help those practicing or learning about leadership to develop the ability to “manage meaning.”

In addition, you might be interested in reading an article that Alan Jones of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, recommended to me: Gill Musson & Laurie Cohen, “Understanding Language Processes: A Neglected Skill in the Management Curriculum,” Management Learning, 30, 27-42 (Available for purchase here).  The authors argue that “students of management” should be made aware of “how language functions to create particular meanings and serve particular purposes” (abstract).

As ESPers, I agree that we should understand the relationship between language and the organization in view of curriculum development. How we employ that knowledge really depends upon the situation and our creativity, of course.  As for me, I believe that we should be “teaching our learners to fish!”

I’ll see you next week!

Kevin