Conceptualizing communicative leadership: A framework for analysing and developing leaders’ communication competence

Abstract

Purpose

The concept of “communicative leadership” is used in organisations that analyse and develop leaders' communication competence. A scholarly definition of this concept is lacking, and the implications of leaders' communication and the development of communication competence for organisations are rarely discussed. The purpose of this paper is to create a theoretical framework around the concept of “communicative leadership”, which can contribute to future research and development of leaders' communication competence.

Design/methodology/approach

Three research questions were addressed: what communicative behaviours are central to leaders? How can “communicative leaders” be characterised? What is a “communicative leader”? Literature from the leadership and communication research fields was reviewed and related to these questions.

Findings

Four central communicative behaviours of leaders (i.e. structuring, facilitating, relating, and representing), eight principles of communicative leadership, and a tentative definition are presented. A communicative leader is defined as someone who engages employees in dialogue, actively shares and seeks feedback, practices participative decision making, and is perceived as open and involved.

Practical implications

A theoretical foundation to the practice of analysing and developing leaders' communication competence is provided, which is related to employee engagement and organisational performance.

Originality/value

Communicative leadership is a concept emerging from organisational needs, articulated by corporate and public organisation leaders. This article links its core constructs to academic quantitative and qualitative research in an integrated framework, which can guide further research and the development of leaders' communication competence.

Citation

Johansson, C., D. Miller, V. and Hamrin, S. (2014), "Conceptualizing communicative leadership: A framework for analysing and developing leaders’ communication competence", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 147-165. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2013-0007