**The Role of Effective Communication in Enhancing Leadership Skills Among Students of Bachelor of Management Mathematics in UiTM Perlis**

\*\*Double blind review, please do not include authors information in this version \*\*

Received Date: \*date

Accepted Date: \*date

Published Date: \*date

**HIGHLIGHTS**

  - Communication is the most important key factor for a student to lead effectively because it helps them ~~to~~ express their opinions.

  - ~~It is important for~~ ~~s~~Students need to have effective communication because it helps them develop their leadership skills and can also improvise ~~on~~ their self-confidence.

  - There are three ~~i~~Independent ~~v~~Variables (IV) such as effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression:

  - Leadership skills are used for ~~d~~Dependent ~~v~~Variables (DVs).

ABSTRACT

*Communication is the most important key factor for a student to lead effectively because it helps them ~~to~~ express their opinion. However, Some students are struggling to socialise with other students due to lack of communication skills. It is important for students to have effective communication because it helps them develop their leadership skills and can also improvise on their self-confidence. The purpose of this study were to identify the level of effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, clarity of thought and expression and leadership skills, to assess the significant difference of demographic variables (gender, age and semester) on effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, clarity of thought and expression and leadership skills, to determine the relationship between effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, clarity of thought and expression and leadership skills, and lastly to examine whether effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, clarity of thought and expression relate toward leadership skills. The random sample of 155 respondents is from Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Science (FSKM) at UiTM Perlis. To achieve all the objectives, the researcher has chosen to apply the frequency test, the independent t-Test, the one-way ANOVA, the correlation and regression performed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 20.0. (SPSS). Based on the findings, there is a positive relationship between the role of effective communication and leadership skills, but a great deal of determination is still needed to establish leadership criteria among undergraduates, as a few students have not been aware of the importance of leadership skills in their future careers. Moreover, the analysis shows that clarity of thought and expression are the most important roles that contribute to leadership skills. The role of effective communication in enhancing leadership skills among university students must be properly studied so that students can develop their ability to soon become a major leader.*

*Keywords: effective communication, leadership skills, ANOVA, independent t-test, regression, correlation, SPSS*

# INTRODUCTION

Communication is a key organisational development tool for social interactions. Good communication skills are needed to convey ideas to others. Communication is the key factor that enables a leader to lead effectively. The organisation is made up of employees, managers, customers, and investors. Effective communication helps a leader voice his or her thoughts to an organisation. Each group of an organisation may require a different style of leadership communication.

Kelvin (2016) states that verbal communication occurs mostly in a face-to-face situation. Verbal communication helps people exchange thoughts, feelings, and opinions. According to Abdan (2015), there are different ways to communicate, such as in speech, writing, or sign. Verbal communication is a process for a person to deliver a voice message of his or her opinion so that the other party understands what he or she wants to share. Good communication is helping people pay attention to the presenter. A great communicator and a first-class communicator are the characteristics needed to become a leader (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). Abdan (2015) concluded that the communication and leadership is a great combination to make a person succeed in his or her profession

The role of effective communication is effective listening. According to Caspersz & Stasinska (2015) effective listening is more than a cognitive process in which listeners need to understand what is said in verbal and non-verbal communication. For example, a conversation could only take place if the person and the receiver were standing, and they had to avoid having a conversation when one person is standing and the other is sitting because effective communication requires the eyes to be at the same level to avoid misunderstanding. People must avoid crossing their arms because they convey egotism or disagreement. This helps to build relationships and understanding with someone else (Abdan, 2015).

Moreover, the role of effective communication is to ensure?? clarity of thought and expression. There are non-verbal cues such as a smile, a panting, a shrugging of the shoulder, and a glaring that have meaning and are well understood in our culture. However, the meaning of some of these more indirect behaviours may not be as well known. (Akilandeswari et al. 2015), stated that a person must first identify what and why he or she needs to send a message to the other person. Burg (2020) has stated that the burden of clarity in communication is always on the communicator. The communicator is the person who is committed to a common understanding for effective communication to take place. It is therefore important to make sure that what we mean is what we hear, and that what we hear is what we mean.

According to Ayub et al. (2014), leadership comes from a single word, ‘leader,’ which means a person or thing that can lead other people to succeed. Effective leaders are always trying to maintain a good balance by changing their leadership method, which also has an impact on communication (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). Henderson (2015) stated that the leadership’s communication practices need to embrace and maintain good working relations. Leaders who have a good working knowledge of the organisation, therefore, may have the benefit of knowing what has gone before and may use that experience in discussions with staff members.

According to Akilandeswari et al. (2015) communication is crucial to making human beings and organisations more successful. A person needs to have the ability to communicate effectively at home, at school, at work, and Wikaningrum et al. (2018) conducted a study on all staff at several private Islamic universities in Semarang city, Indonesia. It shows that effective communication plays a major role in enhancing the leadership skills that can be used, particularly at work, in the future.

Therefore, This study explores the role of effective communication in enhancing leadership skills among UiTM Perlis students. There are three independent variables (IV) such as effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression. Leadership skills are used for dependent variables (DVs).

# METHODOLOGY

This is a quantitative study. The objective of this study can be achieved by selecting each unit in the sample frame of students at Universiti Teknologi Mara Arau, Perlis. Quantitative research provides a method for making information accessible to audiences and standardised approaches allow the study to be reproduce over time (Goertzen, 2017). The advantages of using this method, such as taking less time to collect data and making it cheaper, because all data were collected at the same time.

**Population and Sample**

The population of this study consisted of degree students from Universiti Teknologi Mara Arau, Perlis from the Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics. Based on (Majid, 2018), the researcher needs to recruit a sample from the population of interest to be included in the study. The study sample is 155 students of ?? Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Management Mathematics (CS248). The population sample can be decided based on the table Krejcie and Morgan tables (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970). The students who take the course are 258 from semester one to semester eight.

**Theoretical Framework**

This theoretical framework is modified from ~~(~~Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). The model measures the role of effective communication in enhancing leadership skills among UiTM Perlis students which are effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression.

**Figure 1:** Theoretical Framework of the Study

**Research Instrument**

The study uses questionnaires for the research instrument, including a number of questions, to gather feedback and information from the respondents. In this study, the Likert Scale is used. Five point Likert Scales like (5-Strongly Disagree, 4-Disagree, 3-Neither agree nor disagree, 2-Agree, 1-Strongly agreed) for measurement.

Five sections cover the questionnaires:

1)  Section A: Respondent’s Information

2)  Section B: Leadership Skills

3)  Section C: Effective Listening

4)  Section D: Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively

5)  Section E: Clarity of Thought and Expression

**Method of Data Collection**

The data for this study is collected directly from the respondents through the distribution of online questionnaires via the Google form. Respondents are required to reply to all questionnaires and to submit them as soon as possible after answering all the questions. Respondents may reply to questionnaires when they are free of charge, but they must submit the questionnaires before the due date.

The questionnaires are prepared in two different languages, in English and Bahasa Malaysia, because some respondents may have difficulty understanding the questionnaires and making it easier for respondents to respond to the questions asked. The quantitative research method used in this study depends on the primary questionnaire data of 155 respondents.

**Method of Data Analysis**

The analysis of the study is carried out by the Statistical Package for Social Science Version 20.0 (SPSS), which includes the modification of raw data. This can be done by adjusting the raw data collected to get the information. The SPSS is used to understand and interpret research findings. The data analysis used is a frequency test, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and regression. The SPSS software programmes can be used by selecting the appropriate menu to test each objective using the applicable statistical test.

**Table 1:** Statistical Techniques in Data Analysis

| Statistical Techniques | Objectives                                                                                                                                              |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Frequency Test         | To identify the level of effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression and leadership skills. |
| Independent t-Test     | To compare the values of the means from two samples and test whether it is likely that the samples are from populations having different mean values.   |
| One-way ANOVA          | To compare the means of more than two groups based on a single treatment factor.                                                                        |
| Regression             | To examine whether effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression toward leadership skills.    |

**Pilot Study**

A pilot study was conducted in this research to ensure that the reliability of the questionnaire and all the questions in this questionnaire were easily understood. The pilot study was conducted with respondents with similar characteristics to the target population. Fifteen respondents from the target population took part in the pilot study. The pilot study questionnaire consisted of 20 items that the respondents needed to respond to, including demographic information. The reliability test based on the Cronbach’s Alpha results shown in Table 2 is as follows:

**Table 2:** Reliability Test for Pilot Study

| Variables                                   | Number of Items | Cronbach Alpha |
| ------------------------------------------- | --------------- | -------------- |
| Leadership Skills                           | 4               | 0.665          |
| Effective Listening                         | 4               | 0.769          |
| Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively | 4               | 0.730          |
| Clarity of Thought and Expression           | 4               | 0.665          |

Based on the ~~above~~ Table 2, it shows that the reliability measurement for all variables was greater than 0.6, indicating that there is a good internal consistency of the measurement items in each scale. Thus, the instrument used in these studies is reliable for the actual study.

**FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS**

The findings of this study are based on the response given by the respondent to the questionnaire that was distributed and were evaluated to meet all of the specified objectives of this study.

**Level of Students Understandings about Leadership Skills**

Descriptive analysis involving mean and standard deviation was conducted to determine the role of effective communication in enhancing student leadership skills. The results of the descriptive analysis as shown in Tables 3 – 6.

**Table 3:** Level of Students Understanding about Leadership Skills

| No. | Items                                                               | Mean | Std. Deviation | Interpretation Score |
| --- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---- | -------------- | -------------------- |
| 1   | A leader must be able to motivate others.                           | 4.74 | 0.457          | High                 |
| 2   | A leader can identify the nature of a problem.                      | 4.78 | 0.415          | High                 |
| 3   | A leader is required to respond to people’s requests and concerns.  | 4.67 | 0.471          | High                 |
| 4   | A leader should be flexible about making changes in his leadership. | 4.68 | 0.466          | High                 |
|     | Overall                                                             | 4.72 | 0.452          | High                 |

Based on the Table 3, the item of leadership skills that have the high mean is “A leader can identify the nature of a problem” (mean = 4.78 and std. deviation = 0.415). The overall mean of leadership skills is (mean = 4.72 and std. deviation = 0.452). The students’ level of understanding of leadership skills is therefore at a high level.

**Table 4:** Level of Students Understanding about Effective Listening

| No. | Items                                                               | Mean | Std. Deviation | Interpretation Score |
| --- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---- | -------------- | -------------------- |
| 1   | A leader needs to engage in matters important about their employee. | 4.73 | 0.446          | High                 |
| 2   | A leader has to be empathic.                                        | 4.64 | 0.482          | High                 |
| 3   | A leader listens and do not interrupt the flow of the dialogue.     | 4.70 | 0.461          | High                 |
| 4   | A leader must be an active listener.                                | 4.72 | 0.449          | High                 |
|     | Overall                                                             | 4.69 | 0.460          | High                 |

Based on the Table 4, the item of effective listening that have the high mean is “A leader needs to engage in matters important about their employee” (mean = 4.73 and std. deviation = 0.446). The overall mean of effective listening is (mean = 4.69 and std. deviation = 0.460). The level of students understanding effective listening is therefore at a high level.

**Table 5:** Level of Students Understanding about Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively

| No. | Items                                                                                | Mean | Std. Deviation | Interpretation Score |
| --- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---- | -------------- | -------------------- |
| 1   | A leader will finish his/her work in order of priority.                              | 4.66 | 0.474          | High                 |
| 2   | A leader must be confident enough.                                                   | 4.70 | 0.461          | High                 |
| 3   | A leader should be able to complete what needs to be done during normal office hour. | 4.61 | 0.489          | High                 |
| 4   | A leader should spend enough time on planning his/her activity.                      | 4.70 | 0.458          | High                 |
|     | Overall                                                                              | 4.67 | 0.471          | High                 |

Based on the table 4.6??, the item of performing tasks completely and effectively that have the high mean is “A leader should spend enough time on planning his/her activity” (mean = 4.70 and std. deviation = 0.458). The overall mean for performing tasks completely and effectively is (mean = 4.67 and std. deviation = 0.471). The level of students’ understanding of performing tasks is therefore completely and effectively at a high level.

**Table 6:** Level of Students Understanding about Clarity of Thought and Expression

| No. | Items                                                                                           | Mean | Std. Deviation | Interpretation Score |
| --- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---- | -------------- | -------------------- |
| 1   | A leader usually knows how to respond to a new idea.                                            | 4.71 | 0.483          | High                 |
| 2   | When communicating to their community, a leader should pay attention to their body language.    | 4.72 | 0.449          | High                 |
| 3   | When the community talk to a leader, the leader should respect their perspective.               | 4.64 | 0.482          | High                 |
| 4   | Before expressing his/her opinion, a leader should find a way to say in the most proper manner. | 4.70 | 0.458          | High                 |
|     | Overall                                                                                         | 4.69 | 0.468          | High                 |

Based on Table 4.7??, the item of clarity of thought and expression that has a high mean is “When communicating to their community, a leader should pay attention to their body language” (mean = 4.72 and std. deviation = 0.449). The overall mean for clarity of thought and expression is (mean = 4.69 and std. deviation = 0.468). Thus, the level of students’ understanding of clarity of thought and expression is at a high level.

**The Role of Effective Communication in Enhancing Leadership Skills Based on Gender Using Independent t-Test**

Differences in the role of effective gender-based communication are supported by the Independent T-Test analysis. The results of the analysis are shown in the following table:

**Table 7:** Results of t-Test Analysis

| Variables                                   | Gender | N   | Mean    | Std. Deviation | t       | p    |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------ | --- | ------- | -------------- | ------- | ---- |
| Leadership Skills                           | Male   | 45  | 18.5111 | 1.35885        | \-2.362 | .019 |
|                                             | Female | 110 | 19.0182 | 1.14925        |         |      |
| Effective Listening                         | Male   | 45  | 18.9778 | 1.30539        | 1.166   | .246 |
|                                             | Female | 110 | 18.7091 | 1.30170        |         |      |
| Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively | Male   | 45  | 18.8222 | 1.23009        | .887    | .376 |
|                                             | Female | 110 | 18.6182 | 1.32708        |         |      |
| Clarity of Thought and Expression           | Male   | 45  | 18.8000 | 1.28982        | .146    | .884 |
|                                             | Female | 110 | 18.7636 | 1.45846        |         |      |

The table ~~above~~ 7 shows the results of an independent t-Test for gender-based leadership skills, the P value for t-Test is 0.019, which is lower than the significant () level, so there is a significant difference between gender-based leadership skills. For effective gender-based listening, the results of the analysis show that the value of P for t-Test is 0.246, which is greater than the significant level of (), there is no significant difference between the role of effective communication and effective gender-based listening. Next, to perform tasks completely and effectively on the basis of gender, the results of the analysis show that the value of P for t-Test is 0.376, which is greater than the significant level of (), there is no significant difference between the role of effective communication performing tasks completely and effectively on the basis of gender. Finally, with regard to gender-based clarity of thought and expression, the results of the analysis show that the value of P for t-Test is 0.884, which is greater than the significant level of (), there is no significant difference between the role of effective communication, which is gender-based clarity of thought and expression.

**Differences in the Role of Effective Communication in Enhancing Leadership Skills Based on Age of Students**

Differences in the role of effective communication in enhancing student age-based leadership skills are supported by the One Way ANOVA analysis. The results of this analysis are shown in the following table:

**Table 8:** Results of One Way ANOVA Analysis

| Variables                                   |                | Sum of Squares | df  | Mean Square | F     | Sig. |
| ------------------------------------------- | -------------- | -------------- | --- | ----------- | ----- | ---- |
| Leadership Skills                           | Between Groups | .684           | 2   | .342        | .223  | .800 |
|                                             | Within Groups  | 232.735        | 152 | 1.531       |       |      |
|                                             | Total          | 233.419        | 154 |             |       |      |
| Effective Listening                         | Between Groups | 6.475          | 2   | 3.237       | 1.926 | .149 |
|                                             | Within Groups  | 255.499        | 152 | 1.681       |       |      |
|                                             | Total          | 261.974        | 154 |             |       |      |
| Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively | Between Groups | 3.119          | 2   | 1.560       | .923  | .399 |
|                                             | Within Groups  | 256.752        | 152 | 1.689       |       |      |
|                                             | Total          | 259.871        | 154 |             |       |      |
| Clarity of Thought and Expression           | Between Groups | 13.328         | 2   | 6.664       | 3.472 | .034 |
|                                             | Within Groups  | 291.768        | 152 | 1.920       |       |      |
|                                             | Total          | 305.097        | 154 |             |       |      |

The results of the analysis show that age-based leadership skills have a p-value = 0.800 higher than a significant . Efficient age-based listening has a p-value of 0.149 greater than a significant level . The p-value = 0.399 is greater than the significant for performing tasks completely and effectively based on age. Age-based clarity of thought and expression has only a lower p-value = 0.034 lower than the significant level . The results show that there is only clarity of thought and expression that affects the role of effective communication in enhancing student age-based leadership skills. To date, the results of the analysis show that there are differences that are significant among each group.

**To Examine whether Effective Listening, Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively, and Clarity of Thought and Expression toward Leadership Skills**

The statistical analysis that has been used are regression. This is a test of the model’s overall fitness. The hypothesis that was tested concerned with the selected independent variables that influence the dependent variable.

**Table 10:** Multiple Regression Analysis

|                                             | B      | Beta | P    | Collinearity Statistic | R square | Adjust d R square |      |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------ | ---- | ---- | ---------------------- | -------- | ----------------- | ---- |
|                                             |        |      |      | TOL                    | VIF      |                   |      |
| Constant                                    | 11.919 |      |      |                        |          | .116              | .098 |
| Effective Listening                         | .124   | .131 | .127 | .805                   | 1.243    |                   |      |
| Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively | .248   | .262 | .005 | .688                   | 1.453    |                   |      |
| Clarity of Thought and Expression           | .000   | .000 | .999 | .801                   | 1.249    |                   |      |

The regression equation for full model was as follows:

Leadership skills = 11.919 + 0.124 (Effective Listening) + 0.248 (Performing Tasks Completely and Effectively) + 0.000 (Clarity of Thought and Expression).

Based on the above table??, there was no multicollinearity as the variation inflation factor (VIF) was less than ten for all variables. As a result, it has been found that the p-value = 0.005 is less than only to perform tasks completely and effectively, so that it has a significant effect on leadership skills. While the result of effective listening and clarity of thought and expression shows that p-value = 0.127 and p-value = 0.999 are more than , the two independent variables did not have a significant effect on leadership skills.

The coefficient of determination, R-square in Table 10, shows that only 11.6% of the variation in dependent variables, leadership skills can be explained by independent variables, students at this university have high knowledge of performing tasks in a complete and effective manner. The adjusted R-Squared is 9.8%, which is the dependent variable, and leadership skills are not sufficiently explained by the independent variables.

The summary of the hypotheses test is shown in the following Table 11:

**Table 11:** Summary of Hypothesis Test Results

|  | Hypothesis Statement                                                                                                                                                     | Results         |
|  | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------- |
|  | There is significant difference in effective listening to their gender.                                                                                                  | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in effective listening to their age.                                                                                                     | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in effective listening to their semester.                                                                                                | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in performing tasks completely and effectively to their gender.                                                                          | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in performing tasks completely and effectively to their age.                                                                             | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in performing tasks completely and effectively to their semester.                                                                        | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in clarity of thought and expression to their gender.                                                                                    | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in clarity of thought and expression to their age.                                                                                       | Significant     |
|  | There is significant difference in clarity of thought and expression to their semester.                                                                                  | Significant     |
|  | There is significant difference in leadership skills to their gender.                                                                                                    | Significant     |
|  | There is significant difference in leadership skills to their age.                                                                                                       | Not significant |
|  | There is significant difference in leadership skills to their semester.                                                                                                  | Not significant |
|  | There is significant relationship between effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression and leadership skills. | Significant     |
|  | There is significant influence of the effective listening, performing tasks completely and effectively, and clarity of thought and expression toward leadership skills.  | Significant     |

**CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS**

In summary, it can be concluded that students at UiTM Perlis from FSKM appear to be aware of the role of effective communication in enhancing leadership skills among university students. There is a positive relationship between the role of effective communication and leadership skills, but a great deal of determination is still needed to establish leadership criteria among undergraduates, as there have been a few students who are not aware of the importance of leadership skills in their future careers. In addition, the role of effective communication in enhancing leadership skills among university students must be properly studied so that students can develop their ability to soon become a major leader.

Further research needs to be carried out in the future based on the study that ~~I~~ have carried out. The first recommendation for future research is to increase the number of respondents to answers the questionnaire because it helps to influence the collection of data. If more respondents are involved in this study, the data collected will be more accurate and the information collected will be clearer. Next, a further recommendation for future research that can be suggested is to study at another university, either locally or internationally. The researcher can have different associations between students from different study locations, as they will provide different leadership backgrounds. Moreover, it is important for students to develop effective communication skills to enhance leadership skills in the future, especially in finding a job, because they may feel that they are a leader in this study.

**REFERENCES**

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Akilandeswari, V., Dinesh Kumar, A. & Philomin Freeda, A. & Niranchan Kumar, S. (2015). Elements of Effective Communication. *New Media and Mass Communication*, 37(2015), 44-47.

Ayub, S. H., Manaf, N. A. & Hamzah, M. R. (2014). Leadership: Communicating Strategically in the 21st Century. *Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences*, 155, 502-506. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.10.330

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Luthra, A. & Dahiya, R. (2015). Effective leadership is all about communicating effectively: connecting leadership and communication. *International Journal of Management & Business Studies*, 5(3), 43–48.

Wikaningrum, T., Achmad Saef, U. & Yuniawan, A. (2018). The relationships among leadership styles, communication skills, and employee satisfaction: A study on equal employment opportunity in leadership. *Journal of Business and Retail Management Research*, 13(1), 138-147.