Communicative leadership

Purpose – The purpose of the research is to describe how communicators may contribute to the external effectiveness of organisations by participating in leadership. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on knowledge created in a knowledge network related to the Swedish PR Association. It was conducted between 2003 and 2009. Findings – The findings indicate that communicators must develop certain knowledge and skills in order to be efficient in contributing to organisational effectiveness. Four areas of knowledge have been identified: communication through processes; communication through structures; communication through social interaction; and communication to and from the environment. Likewise four areas of skills have been identified: system design; mediating; coaching; and influencing. Originality/value – The paper suggests that there is a need for development of the role of communicators, if the profession is to be represented in leadership. Instead of only working with traditional communication activities the communicator must also take on the responsibility of building the communicative ability of the organisation in order to develop its total communicative effectiveness.