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Stop! Collaborate and Listen:

Leadership and the Culture of

Communication:

A Review of Literature

By Timberly Deville

This literature review explores the intricate relationships among communication,
collaboration, and the organizational culture within educational institutions. Investigating
the impact of social dynamics on effective communication, the author underscores how
trust between communicators is essential for effective message transmission. Her review
suggests that trust, reciprocally developed through intentional communication, serves as
the bedrock for building organizational culture. Collaboration emerges as a pivotal means
to strengthen communication and the organization itself, wherein opportunities for open
dialogue foster trust and positive relationships. A leader’s role in shaping an organization’s
culture stands as a central tenet. Dynamic leaders, serving as designers, teachers, and
stewards, foster transformative change through communication and collaboration. This
review emphasizes that a leader’s ability to enact and support organizational effectiveness
is intricately tied to their communication skills, which in turn influence employee buy-in
and program culture. Summarizing these interconnected themes, the review concludes
that trust, communication, and collaboration are deeply interwoven, and the improvement
of one impacts the others positively, thus culminating in a comprehensive shift toward a
communicative and collaborative culture.

he purpose of this review is to examine communication efficiency as it relates to
Tthe culture of an education program. Although elements of communication may
sometimes fall between climate and culture, a distinct difference between the two is
clear: Climate is situational, subjective, and linked to thoughts and power influences,
while culture is complex and somehow both an autonomous and collectively
held belief (Denison, 1996). Simply put, according to Muhammad, “Climate is
how we behave, and culture is how we feel” (2018, p. 19). Within this context
of a communicative culture, it is important to note that communication can be an
organic, dynamic component that has a continuous, possibly transformative, impact
on a school’s culture (Hoy & Miskel, 1982). While this theory can be true within a
school, an open, effective communicative culture is vital within a district or leading
organization that observes, guides, or provides recommendations and resources to
those individual schools. In particular, if administrators or otherwise-employees in
similar leadership positions (but positioned at different locations) cannot effectively
communicate laterally (whether formally or informally), schools and organizations
are negatively impacted. Effective communication by leaders must be both consistent
and intentional because it has a direct effect on organizational outcomes. According
to Hoy and Miskel (1982), if this dimension is “consciously manipulated by a leader,
a ripple effect is created […] and a new combination of expectations and behaviors
results” (p. 362). Intentional adjustments to communication can have lasting,

42 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators