Theatre leadership from a communication perspective

Abstract

Although communication is inherent in leadership, it has not yet been explicitly investigated in cultural management research. This explorative study addresses leadership in theatres from a communication perspective. It is based on the theoretical approaches of communicative leader-member-exchange and aesthetic leadership. In 37 interviews, first- and second-level managers in German theatres show a high level of awareness for the importance of their communication. Nevertheless, internal communication appears to be weakly structured in terms of strategic organizational communication, even though it seems to become more systematic. The integration of conflicting organizational areas (especially the aesthetic, technical/workshops and administration/financial area) is regarded as a decisive communicative leadership-task both in short-term (moderating, negotiating) and in long-term (permanent dialogue/ fostering mutual understanding) perspectives. Furthermore, the results contribute to refine the approach developed and point ways for future research on leadership communication in theatres.