What’s transformational communication?
Transformational communication has its roots in transformational leadership theory; a dynamic and powerful style of leadership that uses communication to inspire people towards the achievement of a shared goal and overall success. This leadership communication approach focuses on engaging hearts and minds through purpose, vision, values, ethics, empathy and intellectual stimulation.
How transformational communication facilitates successful organisational change
Communicating organisational change requires going deeper than simply the transactional ‘what’ and ‘how’ elements, so people can understand why moving away from the status quo is needed. This is where transformational communication can play a pivotal role in helping leaders successfully facilitate change management initiatives by illuminating why the change needs to happen and creating a vivid picture of what the evolved organisation will look, feel and be like.
Here are five ways transformational communication can empower leaders during organisational change:
1. Fosters understanding through clarity of purpose
Transformational communicators articulate why the change matters, not just operationally, but emotionally and strategically. They connect the change to the bigger picture, helping people see beyond the current circumstances to what’s possible tomorrow.
For instance, instead of saying, ‘We need to change things up to stay competitive’, a transformational communicator might say, ‘We are evolving some of our processes so we can continue creating an impact for our customers, while also securing our organisation’s future by remaining competitive in the marketplace’.
2. Earns trust through transparency, empathy and authenticity
People naturally resist change for a variety of reasons. For instance, they are not comfortable with uncertainty, they fear being left out or fear their future security. Transformational communication is about communicating with honesty and compassion. These leaders acknowledge the challenges while also reassuring people they will be supported as these are addressed. They reinforce shared values and how these will pave the way for a collaborative roll out. This approach helps people feel safe and reduces fear, rumour and resistance.
3. Aligns hearts, minds and hands
The ‘Head, hearts and hands’(1) (3H model) transformational learning approach put forward by Orr (1992) and expanded upon by Sipos et al (2008) can be successfully applied to organisational change because it recognises the all-encompassing nature of transformative experience and the importance of integrating the cognitive domain (head), affective domain (heart) and the psychomotor domain (hands) towards the achievement of a shared goal.
The holistic approach of transformational communication seeks to align heads, hearts and hands through facts, evidence and strategy (mind), storytelling, meaning and values (heart) and outlining steps to take (hands). This integrated approach increases commitment, not just compliance and creates momentum through action.
4. Creates buy-in and shared ownership
Transformational communication is empathetic, empowering and relationship oriented so leaders focus on collaboration and bringing people along on the journey. They invite questions, welcome feedback and facilitate participatory processes, such as codesign and cross-functional project teams. It signals, ‘We are in this together’.
5. It mobilises momentum
Through vivid vision casting, relatable storytelling and consistent messaging through multiple audience channels, transformational communicators keep people focused on the ultimate destination while also focusing on reaching and celebrating smaller milestones. This makes the process more enjoyable and the goal seem more achievable.
In summary, transformational communication helps leaders not just implement change but lead it with the support of stakeholders. It helps turn confusion into clarity, resistance into resolve and adversaries into advocates.
(c)Ros Weadman 2025
