In 2002 I received my Ph.D. at the Department of Sociology, Media and Communication Studies at Lund University. The focus of my dissertation was leaders’ communication roles and communication between managers and subordinates in today’s organizations. The research questions were concerned with ideas, practices andorganizational conditions in relation to leadership communication. Communication has always had a key role in leadership, but the shift towards loosely structured networks, visions and values, self-managed teams etc. means that leaders’ communication role has changed dramatically. The challenge for leaders is no longer to control employees’ physical actions, but to manage their imaginations and interpretations. In this view, leaders’ primary role is to act as managers of meaning, which calls for new and more difficult ways of communicating.

After my Ph.D.-project I have participated in a research project focused on communication in change processes, comprising communication between managers and employees, public relation practitioners roles and organizational learning. The project, funded by The Knowledge Foundation (2006–2007), was based on the study of change process within three companies: Astra Zeneca, Eon and SCA. Since January 2011, I work with a research project about internal crisis communication – funded by The Swedish Agency for Contingency Management.

In general terms, my research interests concern internal communication, roles and practices of communication professionals, leadership and co-workership.

The following areas of interest are also some of my main teaching areas; change processes, communication between managers and employees, dialogue, employee engagement, communication strategies and storytelling. My ambition in teaching is to integrate theory with practice, trying to show how theories and research can be of practical use for an organization.

I have previously worked as a consultant for several years. As a consultant I worked with communication audits of various kinds as well as coaching and training of managers and communication professionals. My work included areas such as change processes, communication between managers and employees, dialogue, employee engagement, communication strategies and storytelling.