Communication as everyday leadership practice: Middle leaders’ accounts from Vietnamese higher education

Résumé fourni par la source

This qualitative study examines how middle leaders in Vietnamese higher education understand the relationship between communication and leadership. While communication is often treated as a competence that supports effective leadership, less attention has been paid to how leadership responsibilities themselves develop communicative judgement in everyday management practice. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with five middle leaders from two Vietnamese higher education institutions, and informed by transformational and communicative perspectives on leadership, the study identifies a perceived reciprocal relationship between communication and leadership. Participants described clarity, listening, situational adaptation and precision as central to aligning colleagues, sustaining motivation and managing institutional expectations. At the same time, they reported that leadership experience sharpened their communication practices. The article argues that communication should be understood not simply as a transferable skill, but as a situated practice through which educational leadership is enacted, learned and refined.