A Rutgers study examining how higher education leaders communicate internally found that when leaders share stories of resilience—to build trust, project stability, and reinforce organizational unity—they can help strengthen their institution's collective capacity to navigate crises.
The study also introduces an innovative rubric to enable leaders to evaluate messages of resilience in their internal workplace communications, given the relationship between leadership resilience and effective crisis communication.
"In times of adversity, organizational members look to leaders for vision, inspiration, clear information, and opportunities for their voices to be heard. The messages leaders share—both intentional and unintentional—carry heightened significance in moments of disruption," said the study's lead author, SC&I alumnus, Assistant Vice President of Organizational Leadership in University Academic Affairs, and part-time SC&I faculty member, Ralph Gigliotti Ph.D. '17.
The study, "The Role of Leadership Communication in Building Crisis Readiness and Resilient Leadership in Times of Disruption: An Exploratory Study," was co-authored by Gigliotti and Sonia Alvarez-Robinson of the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was published in a special issue of the Journal of Behavioral Sciences on the subject of workplace communication.
The study introduces an innovative rubric to enable leaders to evaluate messages of resilience in their internal workplace communications, given the relationship between leadership resilience and effective crisis communication.
Gigliotti and Alvarez-Robinson studied the communication output of higher education leaders because the challenges impacting colleges and universities require effective leadership. Furthermore, as Gigliotti noted, “given the broad array of stakeholders and the diversity of institutions across the sector, the higher education context provides a rich backdrop for understanding the dynamics of leadership communication during periods of crisis and complexity."
They conducted the study by reviewing public communications from a sample of higher education leaders, focusing on their formal workplace communications such as welcome addresses, commencement remarks, and public speeches. Each included references to organizational and broader societal challenges, with particular attention to themes of resilience.
Gigliotti noted, "Resilience narratives play a vital role in shaping a mindset of crisis readiness—preparing organizational members for the challenges, setbacks, and disruptions that inevitably arise."
From this review, they identified emergent themes in resilience narratives and the calls to action articulated by leaders. They then integrated these insights with findings from the literature on crisis readiness, resilient leadership, and crisis and risk communication to design a preliminary rubric. The rubric guided their evaluation of the communications in their sample.
Gigliotti and Alvarez-Robinson found that leaders employ resilience narratives to help members of their communities:
As Gigliotti noted, "Resilience narratives play a vital role in shaping a mindset of crisis readiness—preparing organizational members for the challenges, setbacks, and disruptions that inevitably arise. In a world marked by volatility, fatigue, burnout, and disengagement, cultivating resilience and readiness has become a leadership imperative. Messages of resilience and renewal—delivered in the midst or aftermath of crisis—can foster a collective readiness mindset, increasing the likelihood of resilient responses to future disruptions."
Learn more about the Communication Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.
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