Leadership and Communication

Abstract

Leadership is a communicative phenomenon. Communication scholars have studied it for decades, and theoretical and empirical pieces on leadership communication transcend our sub-disciplines and subfields. Historically, leadership communication as an area of study has been influenced by leadership studies in psychology, organizational behavior, management, and more. Over time, leadership communication has emerged as its own area of study, and a diverse, multi-faceted one at that. The purpose of this article is to provide an analytical review of this literature, highlight the diverse ways in which we approach the study of leadership communication and the diverse theoretical traditions from which we build, and summarize empirical research findings. This entry is based on data-driven and conceptual articles in communication and related journals that often publish articles on leadership communication. These journals included: Communication Monographs, Communication Theory, Human Communication Research, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Communication Research, Management Communication Quarterly Leadership, Leadership Studies, Journal of Public Relations Research, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Public Relations Review, and Communication Studies. Key search terms included “leadership communication” and “leadership” followed by a broader search on Google Scholar with the same key terms. What follows is not meant to be a comprehensive review but rather a representative one. Furthermore, following Fairhurst and Connaughton 2014 (cited under Reference Works), this entry does not offer a universal definition of leadership and communication but rather celebrates both terms’ diversity in conceptualization and communication scholars’ diverse meta-theoretical commitments as reflected in the books and articles included below.