before they get out of hand and understand detainees more fully. Listening is effective because the
detainee's words provide important information as to what he is thinking and how to work with him.
a. Any message that a person is trying to get across contains two components:
(1) The content of the message (what he is trying to say).
(2) The feeling or attitude underlying this content.
b. In order to get the full understanding of what is being communicated, it is necessary to
listen intently to the content and feeling. In some cases, what the individual is saying is not as
important as the underlying feeling.
c. To catch the full flavor or meaning behind the message, one must pay particular attention
to the feeling component. The listener should ask himself the following questions:
(1) What is he trying to tell me?
(2) What does it mean to him?
(3) How does he see the situation?
d. Even though words have specific meanings in the dictionary, do not rely solely on that
meaning. Different feelings can give words different meanings.
e. True meanings of words are affected by: tone of the voice, speed of delivery, degree of
loudness or softness, pitch of the voice, and the way words are emphasized. Example: A simple
yes can express various feelings such as anger, frustration, resignation, disinterest, agreement, or
challenge. Example: A short sentence such as, "I'll do it," can have various meanings such as, "I'll
be really happy to do it," or "I'll do it, but it's the last time," or "You always make me do what you
want," or "Don't worry, I'll take care of it," or "You are so dumb, I'd better take care of it myself."
The true meaning of a message or statement does not reside in words alone.
SUMMARY
Challenge and opportunity characterize the role of the Army leader. He is challenged by the scope
and diversity of his assignments and finds continuing opportunity to assume responsibility and
develop resourcefulness. Furthermore, the leader finds an urgent need to use all of his personal
resources in perhaps the most demanding of all tasks--the leadership of personnel. Leadership is a
quality of particular importance to the correctional supervisor.
Sound and effective leadership is not based on guesswork or on native ability. Its fundamentals can
be analyzed and applied by most reasonable, intelligent personnel. Intuitive leadership alone is not
sufficient. A leader can and must improve his performance through the study and analysis of his
own behavior; he can and must be a student of human nature; he can and must be aware of his
responsibilities for developing the leadership skills of his subordinates.
Leadership has been described by some as an art, and while that may well be true, one thing is
certain, there are no pat solutions to the complex task of directing human behavior toward
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