Understanding Communication Climate: A story about supportive interactions in organisations Myriam M.E.H. Heffels Master thesis Corporate Communication October 31st, 2018 Rotterdam School of Management Executive master in Corporate Communication Student no.: 477799 Thesis coach: ir. Ton Roodink Co-reader: dr. Guido Berens “So remember to look up at the stars and not your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder (Hawking, about 2018) what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up. Unleash your imagination. Shape the future.” (Hawking, 2018, chap. 10) Stephen Hawking © 2018 The copyright of this master thesis rests with the author M.M.E.H. Heffels, owner of Ingage inc. The author is responsible for its contents. Rotterdam School of Management and its Corporate Communication Centre is only responsible for the educational coaching and cannot be held liable for the content of this master thesis report. Preface Human behaviour has always fascinated me, and most of all why we sometimes create such adverse or dysfunctional circumstances for ourselves to achieve success, alone, in a group or in an organisation, while in the meantime we absolutely crave this connection. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever been part of a group, family, team or organisation – basically every human being – knows, this connection is not something that simply can be forced. Think of a supervisor who dislikes one of his subordinates and the effect that might have on both their performances through the quality of their relationship. Even as a child I was curious about the world around me and the humans in it. I became mesmerised by how vastly fascinating the entire universe is, how insignificantly small we humans are on its stage and what possibilities the future might hold. Life science has intrigued me in the broadest sense of the term. I am fascinated by what connects or separates us, through our language and our behaviour. My interest in communication originates from a deeply held desire to understand this, and how we can create circumstances that support connection and avoid separation. There are many fields of study that connect to this subject: Psychology, anthropology, human resources, behavioural sciences, organisational science and neuroscience to name but a few. To me communication feels like a cross roads where they all meet. I started out my academic career studying chemical engineering, and conducting very fundamental research on catalysts. When studying fundamental laws of nature, there is usually one clear explanation, one solution to every problem (although that too, as I now know, could be debated). But there is definitely not one solution when it comes to studying social phenomena, because each of us is in a sense unique and has a hidden world inside, made up of our chemistry, the sum of our experiences, the way we look at the world. The context of a group of people functioning in an organisation, and as such corporate communication, keeps fascinating me. After a career of almost two decades in human resources, event management and corporate and internal communication, at the end of 2017, I decided to combine all my experiences and knowledge, became an entrepreneur and started Ingage inc. My mission is to help people work together better in organisations, departments or teams. To achieve this I don’t just try to optimise internal communication, but most of all to raise awareness for the power we each have to make an impact when we communicate effectively. Because without communication, how can strategy be executed by the employees of the organisation? If an organisation wants to be successful - in the broadest sense of the word – a supportive connection between employees seems a necessity to me. To focus my thesis on employee (internal) communication, and especially communication climate, was inspired by Cees van Riel and his master class on Employee Communication which I attended in 2017. In figuring out along the way how to research it, it was a gift that I was introduced to an organisation that struggled with their internal communication and that was willing to let me research and help them. It threw me into the hands of a coach that helped me see things from a different perspective. There is no such thing as coincidence. This thesis project has been part of a transformational journey. Throughout my master studies I visited several fields of study and vast amounts of research. It led me through struggles within my rational mind, revelations and caused my brain to seemingly short circuit more than once. It helped me understand the fabric of connection better, and it made me realise I know a lot and actually this means I know very little. I came to understand eight step plans are nice but it’s far better to understand how to translate them to the reality of a specific organisation. I also came to understand and wholeheartedly believe there is something every organisation can do in order to nurture connection between employees and guard their communication climate. Welcome to the journey. Myriam Heffels Vleuten, October 31st 2018 Contents Executive summary ............................................................................................................ 7 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Employee Communication ................................................................................... 9 1.2 The relevance of communication climate ......................................................... 10 2 Research question ..................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Influences on communication climate .............................................................. 12 2.2 Researching an educational institute ................................................................ 13 2.3 A twofold research question .............................................................................. 13 Part I Theoretical background ......................................................................................... 15 3 Theoretical background ............................................................................................ 16 3.1 Communication climate ...................................................................................... 16 3.1.1 Continuums of communication climate ..................................................... 17 3.1.2 Levers of communication climate: a preliminary conclusion ................... 19 3.2 Organisational identification in relation to communication climate ............... 20 3.3 Employee participation in relation to communication climate ........................ 21 3.3.1 The role of feedback .................................................................................... 22 3.3.2 The role of participation in decision making ............................................. 22 3.4 Employee voice in relation to communication climate .................................... 23 3.4.1 A climate of silence: Fear to voice ............................................................. 23 3.4.2 The influence of group context and supervisors on climate .................... 24 3.5 Trust in relation to communication climate ...................................................... 25 3.5.1 Trust and teamwork: trust building in relationships ................................. 26 3.5.2 Building trust supports an open communication climate ......................... 27 3.6 Corporate culture in relation to communication climate ................................. 27 3.6.1 Culture is enduring but can evolve............................................................. 28 3.6.2 Corporate tribe: culture exists in-between people .................................... 28 3.7 Communication climate from the perspective of followership ........................ 29 3.7.1 Servant leadership: Empowering employees to follow ............................. 29 3.7.3 Connecting the continuum of followership and communication climate 30 3.8 Conclusion and discussion of literature research ........................................... 31 3.8.1 A proposed theoretical framework and definition ..................................... 31 3.8.2 A proposed overall continuum of communication climate ....................... 33 3.8.3 Supporting communication climate through supportive behaviour ........ 33 3.8.4 Conclusion: theoretical insights ................................................................. 36 Part II Research & findings .............................................................................................. 37 4 Research..................................................................................................................... 38 4.1 Research subject: educational institution ........................................................ 38 4.2 Research methododology and data collection ................................................. 40 4.2.1 Qualitative research ..................................................................................... 40 4.2.2 Responsive interviewing method ............................................................... 41 4.2.3 Qualitative content analysis, observations and other conversations ...... 42 5 Data analysis and findings .......................................................................................