Abstract:
Effective leadership communication leads to desirable organizational outcomes. Yet, limited
studies have explored motivating language, an essential part of leaders’ communication.
Motivating language has been linked to significant organizational outcomes such as employee
performance. However, existing studies about this topic are contextualized in private
organizations and in Western settings. To fill this gap, this research identifies the specific types
of motivating language used by leaders and determines its influences on employee performance
in a Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation. This research employed a qualitative case
study approach. Moreover, in-depth interviews were administered to six employees selected
through nonprobability purposive sampling. Furthermore, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase
thematic analysis was utilized to identify and analyze the emerging themes. The data revealed
important findings. First, some leaders use all types of motivating language, namely direction-giving, empathetic, and meaning-making. On the other hand, some leaders use only two types of
motivating language, specifically direction-giving and empathetic language. Second, the findings
revealed that the mostly used type of motivating language is empathetic language. Third, the
findings revealed five emerging themes about how the leader motivating language influences
employee performance. Direction-giving influences employee performance through Faster
Completion of Tasks and Developing a Sense of Direction. Empathetic language influences
employee performance in terms of Increased Work Willingness and Trust Empowerment. Lastly,
meaning-making influences employee performance through the Development of a Deeper Work
Purpose. The findings of this research serve as guides to further enhance the communication of
leaders in the organization.
