Making sense of leaders’ perceptions about effectiveness in communication during a crisis

Sammanfattning: Nowadays crisis leadership must display greater representation in  organizational  studies for  the  reason  that  leadership  organizing  capability  is  constituted  through communication. This  hesis  employs  a  sensemaking  perspective  to  obtain  a  broader  understanding  of the  ways  leadership  unfolds  under  abrupt  uncertain  circumstances  that  are  also vulnerable  to  changes  in  the  environment,  such  as  crises. Besides,  this  study  presents  the  particularity  of  delving  into  the  centrality  of communication  from  a  constructionist  view  in  order  to  understand  how  crisis  leadership is  constituted  through  the  communicative  interactions  of  individuals. In  order  to  do  this,  this  qualitative  study  displays  the  sensemaking  of  20  Swedish crisis  managers  to  get  their  own  perceptions  of  communication  effectiveness  in  crisis management,  how  they  make  sense  of  self-identity  in  the  role  of  crisis  leadership,  and  the part  of  communication  in  the  meaning  construction  of  realities  during  a  crisis. The  results  display  that  crisis  leaders  recognize  the  fundamental  role  of communication  in  the  meaning-construction  and  to  maintain  a  shared  sense  of  meaning among  individuals.  Crisis  leaders  concern  about  communicating  stories  of  learning,  and following-up.  They  show  a  high  sensitivity  to  anticipate  the  crisis  and  emphasize  that effective  communication  builds  good  relationships  between  networks.  Managers acknowledge  that  good  communication  skills  ensure  effective  leadership  during  a  crisis. In  making  sense  of  crisis  leadership  this  study  shows  the  intersection  of  leadership, organizing,  and  communication  as  intertwined  processes.