KALAMAZOO, Mich.—For nearly two decades, Dr. Leah Omilion-Hodges, a professor in Western Michigan University's School of Communication, has been focused on organizational communication and how it translates to organizations and leaders.
Dr. Leah Omilion-Hodges
Now, Omilion-Hodges is bringing her abundance of expertise and experience on the subject to a new format with her podcast, “The Communicative Leader.” The weekly podcast, which already has six episodes available, delves deeply into communication tips and tricks for excelling as a leader in the workplace.
“I’ve wanted to find an outlet to give specific, concrete suggestions for employees of all ranks and across all industries” as an organizational communication scholar, Omilion-Hodges says. “I’m doing all this research and work, and I want to help people have healthier organizational lives. So the podcast really became that outlet.”
Omilion-Hodges’ passion behind the podcast stems from, in part, her time as a young professional in what she describes as a “dysfunctional” organization—an occurrence she says is not so uncommon in companies.
“I was in this really strange environment in this organization trying to find my way, and then I started my master’s at Wayne State (University) and I fell in love with organizational communication,” says Omilion-Hodges, who went on to earn both her master’s and doctoral degrees in organizational communication and public relations. “Organizations are so complex and compelling—it’s amazing to me that we can all show up or log on around the same time and accomplish work considering how many moving parts there are.”
Omilion-Hodges, who has taught at Western since 2012, believes that it is all too easy for people to dismiss communication and leadership as "things they know," but she hopes that the podcast will help both students and professionals at any stage of their career by bringing her lived experiences and teaching to life.
In the podcast, Omilion-Hodges will tackle one “type of communication” each week — such as active listening or her upcoming topic, self-efficacy. At the end of each episode, she gives takeaways for both formal leaders and the general listener.
“I don't want someone to say, ‘well, I'm not a manager. This isn't for me.’ Nope, that's not true. You're always in a position of leadership. It's just whether or not you're going to acknowledge it and embrace it.”
In the end, she hopes that her podcast will leave listeners feeling empowered and able to make small changes that will help them to advocate for themselves, their team and their ideas.
Every Monday, a new "The Communicative Leader" episode is released and can be listened to on The Communicative Leader website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.