Leadership Communication in Multicultural Organizational Contexts: A Study of Communication Competence.
Author
Anyiasong, Esther
Term
4. term
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-29
Pages
45
Abstract
This thesis examines how leaders can communicate effectively across cultural and linguistic differences in multicultural organizations to promote inclusion, clarity, and collaboration. Using a qualitative, non-empirical design based on an integrative literature review and concept-centric synthesis, it brings together insights from leadership communication, intercultural communication, communication competence, cultural intelligence, multilingual workplace studies, inclusion, and psychological safety. The analysis shows that leadership communication competence is not just clear information transfer but an adaptive, relational, culturally sensitive, and language-aware capability through which leaders create shared meaning, manage differences, and support effective teamwork. It finds that cultural differences shape expectations about hierarchy, directness, feedback, and participation, while language differences influence voice, trust, and access to organizational power. This competence enhances inclusion by making diverse employees feel valued and heard, improves clarity by reducing ambiguity and building shared understanding, and strengthens collaboration by creating psychological safety for dialogue and participation. The thesis concludes that communication competence is a core leadership capability in diverse workplaces and should be developed through intercultural training, inclusive communication practices, language-aware leadership, and structured clarification strategies. Its contribution is a coherent conceptual framework integrating leadership communication, intercultural competence, and cultural intelligence to guide understanding and practice in culturally diverse workplaces.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan ledere kan kommunikere effektivt på tværs af kulturelle og sproglige forskelle i multikulturelle organisationer for at fremme inklusion, klarhed og samarbejde. Med et kvalitativt, ikke-empirisk design baseret på et integrativt litteraturreview og konceptcentrisk syntese samler studiet perspektiver fra ledelseskommunikation, interkulturel kommunikation, kommunikationskompetence, kulturel intelligens, forskning i flersprogede arbejdspladser, inklusion og psykologisk tryghed. Afhandlingen viser, at ledelsesmæssig kommunikationskompetence ikke blot handler om at formidle information klart, men er en adaptiv, relationel, kultursensitiv og sprogbevidst evne, hvorigennem ledere skaber fælles mening, håndterer forskelle og understøtter effektivt teamsamarbejde. Den argumenterer for, at kulturelle forskelle former forventninger til hierarki, direktehed, feedback og deltagelse, mens sprog forskelle påvirker stemme, tillid og adgang til organisatorisk magt. Kompetencen fremmer inklusion ved at få forskellige medarbejdere til at føle sig værdsat og hørt, øger klarheden ved at reducere tvetydighed og understøtte fælles forståelse, og styrker samarbejdet ved at skabe psykologisk tryghed for dialog og deltagelse. Afhandlingen konkluderer, at kommunikationskompetence er en central ledelseskapacitet i mangfoldige organisationer og bør udvikles gennem interkulturel træning, inkluderende kommunikationspraksisser, sprogbevidst ledelse og strukturerede afklaringsstrategier. Studiets bidrag er en sammenhængende konceptuel ramme, der integrerer ledelseskommunikation, interkulturel kompetence og kulturel intelligens som grundlag for forståelse og praksis i kulturelt mangfoldige arbejdspladser.
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