Strategic Signals in Social Interaction: How Communication Shapes Power, Authenticity, and Support in Organizations

Abstract: This symposium examines how communication functions as a strategic social signal that shapes interpersonal dynamics, power relations, and professional outcomes in organizations. Moving beyond views of communication as mere information exchange, the featured papers conceptualize communicative behavior as signaling under conditions of uncertainty—through which individuals convey support, dominance, passion, and authenticity when internal states and intentions are not directly observable. Nerenberg and colleagues examine communication as a relational support signal in mentoring contexts, showing that mentees systematically underestimate the support they receive from both mentors and peers in brief career conversations, with distinct roles emerging for instrumental versus psychosocial guidance. Mishra conceptualizes communication as a signal of power and status, demonstrating that threats to masculine identity increase men’s preference for dominance-oriented leadership behaviors, even at interpersonal cost. Lukac and Krautter focus on communication as an emotional and motivational signal, using linguistic and vocal cues to distinguish genuine from faked passion and revealing the limits of strategic emotional performance. Finally, Zambrotta and Bailey frame communication as an identity signal, showing how beliefs about self-monitoring shape authenticity judgments and fuel skepticism toward authenticity norms. Together, these papers highlight a central signaling tension in organizational communication—between authenticity and strategy, support and dominance, and expression and regulation. By integrating perspectives from organizational behavior, social psychology, and communication science, this symposium advances signaling-based accounts of communication and clarifies how communicative choices shape relational dynamics at work.

Keywords: Communication signals, Interpersonal Support, Leadership, Authenticity