A study combined direct observation with self-report measures in examining both communication characteristics and functional activities of managers to identify how managers really communicate. Subjects were 120 supervisors from a financial institution, a state agency, a medium-sized manufacturing plant, a campus police department, and the Navy and Army ROTC units of a university. Observation was conducted by participant observers and by graduate students in management. The Leadership Observation System (LOS) instrument was used for observation, and subjects completed the Communication Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). Results revealed two significant canonical correlations that indicate a two-dimensional managerial communicator model. The first dimension represents a continuum from"humanistic interactor," interacting more frequently both upward and downward and exhibiting more staffing, training and developing activities, compared to "Mechanistic Isolates," who communicate very little but frequently engage in conflict management. The second dimension reveals a continuum from "informal developer," communicating more spontaneously and involved in developing of personnel, in contrast to a "formal controller," who monitors and controls subordinates using more scheduled communication interaction. Tables of data are included as well as a figure illustrating the model and an eight-page reference list. (HTH)