Leadership communication during organizational transformation

The article studies the role of institutional leadership communication in six cases of comprehensive organizational transformation in higher education institutions. Through the concepts of sense-making and seizing, the article investigates how academic leaders at the institutional level deal with the need to balance continuity and change in their intra-organizational communication. Key findings suggest that digital platforms change not just the outreach of academic leadership communication but also the types of staff interaction and involvement during organizational transformation. Furthermore, findings also suggest that leadership communication is more focused on processes than outcomes and is more oriented towards learning to live with unresolved situations than providing swift solutions. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature, and some implications are suggested as to how communication processes can be exploited by institutional leaders in organizational transformation processes.

本文以六所高等教育机构的全面组织变革案例为研究样本，探讨制度层面领导沟通的作用与影响。本文借助意义建构（sense-making）与契机捕捉（seizing）两大理论框架，探究制度层面的学术领导者如何在组织内部沟通中兼顾组织连续性与变革需求。核心研究结论表明，数字平台不仅拓展了学术领导沟通的触达边界，更重塑了组织变革进程中员工互动与参与的形式与类型。此外，研究还发现，领导沟通更侧重于变革过程而非最终结果，且更倾向于引导组织成员学会与未决困境共存，而非追求快速解决问题的方案。本文结合现有学术文献对研究结论展开深入讨论，并就制度型领导者在组织变革进程中如何有效运用沟通路径，提出了若干实践启示。